


World Wrestling Digidestined 2014

by corneroffandom



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, World Wrestling Entertainment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2018-12-05 20:09:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 243
Words: 207,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11585304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corneroffandom/pseuds/corneroffandom
Summary: Select Wrestlers get called to the digiworld for their most hazardous mission yet. (This story was started in 2014. FFN is broken so I'm slowly transferring all of my series over here.)





	1. Chapter 1

He feels warm sun on his skin, wind rushing through his hair. Hears the soft sound of birds twittering nearby, a lapping brook beyond that. It all seems so peaceful, but yet... so wrong. His fingers twitch, expecting concrete or maybe carpeting, but instead dirt burrows under his fingernails and he cringes as a small rock embeds itself in his cuticle. None of this makes sense. His last memory was walking through the halls of the latest hotel when... _Aha._ He thinks he knows what's going on finally, determined now not to move and give them the satisfaction. Only his two teammates could _possibly_ pull something like this off and he wonders why exactly it took him so long to realize. He keeps his eyes closed even as he opens his mouth. "Hey, Roman, Dean! I'm not sure what kind of prank you two are pulling, but-"

"SHHH!" a sharp voice to his left breaks into Seth Rollins' words and _this_ does make him sit up in a hurry, eyes wide open as he prepares to defend himself against whatever it is. "You don't want the bad ones to hear you."

He looks around for the owner of the voice, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Bad ones? Where are you? _Who_ are you?"

The voice sounds exasperated and amused all at once when it speaks again. "I'm right in front of you, silly. Look down." Seth follows the command despite not knowing why, his eyes trailing around the grass and... seeing absolutely nothing. Until, that is, he spots a pair of eyes blinking up at him and he scrambles back, disbelieving what he's seeing.

"Ok, ok, so I've hit my head," he mutters to himself. "It's fine, concussions, I've had those before..." He continues to ponder the ramifications of a concussion on The Shield's success now, so soon after Wrestlemania, but he knows that Roman and Dean will be able to keep things moving until he's cleared to compete again. "So I'll wake up and this'll just have been some bizarre ass dream, no big deal." He moves to stand up but the creature still staring beadily at him follows, Seth watching it warily until he's safely on his feet once more. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm coming with you! That's what partners do!" it chatters, bright red eyes locked on him as he finally manages to determine where it ends and the grass it's standing in begins as both are the same shade of green. It's small, with dark blue stripes crisscrossing its body, and he almost feels ridiculous at being so startled by such a thing, but when he had been sitting down, it had seemed much more threatening somehow. "My name's Betamon! And you're Seth!"

"Oh yeah, ok, definitely a nightmare." He turns sharply and starts to walk away, disturbed by just how... _real_ everything looks, feels, smells, sounds. More so than any dream he's ever had in his life. The grass rustles behind him and he can only imagine the strange creature still chasing after him but he purposely ignores it, thinking perhaps if he walks long enough, something will happen and he'll be snapped back to reality, like in most nightmares. Or, best case scenario, Dean or Roman will notice he's trapped in his own subconscious and wake him up themselves.

But the longer he walks, the more doubtful he becomes of this. The leaves brushing against his skin whenever he ventures too close to trees feels real, the dew from the grass that slaps the inch of skin not covered by his pants or shoes tickles like it would in reality, and he grows tired of walking after fifteen minutes, just like in the real world. So he stops and turns around, unsurprised to find the creature from before _still_ following him, slowing to a stop a few feet away and peering up at him with that same steadfast gaze from its oddly colored eyes. "What is this place?"

"It's the Digital World!" Betamon beams proudly as he explains, inching closer to the human. "Or, as some call it, the Digiworld! Welcome!"

Seth hesitates and grimaces, pinching his nose. _It could still just be a dream,_ he once more tries to convince himself despite everything in him saying _nope, it's far from a dream._ "Why am I here?"

"Because you're my partner," Betamon says simply, as if announcing that the sky is blue, grass is green, and all of those other cliches that Seth generally can't stand but doesn't have the brainpower to think beyond right now. "It's our job to help protect the Digiworld!"

"What?!" he demands, cringing back when the small green creature scurries forward, looking like he's about to climb up Seth's leg like some overly excited puppy. "Us? Protect this place? All alone?" His dark eyes trail around the large expanse of land, shaking his head as he digs his fingers into his hair, tugging at the rare strands of blond that show up among the non-bleached ones.

"Of course not!" Betamon exclaims, shaking his head in disbelief at Seth. "There are many others, where do you think we're going?"

Seth stares down at him, bewildered. "Me, I was hoping to go back to earth..."

"Sorry, not yet. It's not far now, you nearly found the place all on your own," he chatters happily, running on ahead and leaving Seth to follow, a blank look on his face as he wonders for the millionth time exactly what the hell is going on. "Come on, Seth!"

He walks a little faster, mouth suddenly growing dry as he feels a number of eyes on him- hundreds of them at least, adding to his trepidation of what exactly he's been thrown into the middle of. If he didn't know better, he'd still think it was some sort of overly detailed rib from Dean or Roman but no... They wouldn't have let it go on this long, ruining it with their laughter long before now. This only makes him feel worse as he walks through lines of more trees, Betamon seeming more confident in where he's going than Seth in anything he's seen since waking up twenty minutes earlier. Finally they reach a clearing and Seth breathes a little easier, that feeling of being stared at from either side disappearing as suddenly as it'd begun.

They're still standing there, Betamon looking around with a bizarre happiness about him, when Seth hears voices from all around. And, oddly enough, some sound familiar, his brows furrowing as grass parts and leaves rustle, footsteps approaching them. Betamon looks unconcerned even as Seth again turns in a circle, wondering how he could defend himself against all of them alone. He sharply misses Dean and Roman's dependable presence by his side, though he's not sure what they could do against more creatures like Betamon if the need arises, but still he'd rather fall with them by his side than fight alone.

But the faces that appear, once he registers them, _are_ familiar ones, if not ones he'd exactly like to see at any time, most enemies of The Shield at one point or another in the year and a half they've dominated the WWE. Nonetheless, he says very little as they approach, looking as wary as he feels. Each are accompanied with creatures of their own of various sizes and types, Seth finding himself analyzing theirs against Betamon as if it's some sort of strange competition, which most everything is in wrestling so why not this... whatever this may be, as well?

He glances around at the group of them standing around awkwardly in this clearing, counting heads quickly, and he wonders what exactly is going on that ten wrestlers would be called to this strange world and given little creatures to stalk them all around. The Miz is across from him, staring blankly down at a stoic looking purple dragon type creature with small wings on either arm that looks like they couldn't support Betamon, much less his bulkier body. Seth looks over at a cooing sound, finding Alicia Fox playing with a strange plant looking thing, rubbing the petals coming from a flower growing on its head between her fingers gently. Ricardo Rodriguez is standing a bit away from the rest, kneeling down next to a small blue beast with a yellow V between his eyes, a curious look on his face as they talk lowly. Likewise, Heath Slater too is talking with his, a strange brown rabbit with three horns and massive ears, who has made itself comfortable on top of his head, its ears drooping down to rest on Heath's shoulders. AJ Lee doesn't seem as thrilled with hers, however, a deep frown on her face as she stares into the icy blue eyes of the golden furred bipedal fox who is slightly taller than her.

He smirks as he glances over, now, to find Zack Ryder watching on in awe as a cream colored thing resembling a hampster flaps the wings on each side of its head, fluttering at eye level with him, grinning largely. Not far away, Dolph Ziggler is leaning near a purple creature with yellow eyes, the two of them looking mischevious as they get to know each other. Alberto Del Rio is another that looks unimpressed, the beast at his feet indeterminable from this distance, Seth only able to really get a good look at the blue and white fur covering his body, leaving only his face and a bit of his midsection slightly visible, his large claws enough to give anyone pause. But Wade Barrett's takes the cake, Seth only just able to catch a glimpse of the thing as it peers out shyly from behind Wade's legs, wide eyes gaping around at all of the humans and their companions scattered around. It appears to have four ears, and something like... hair? ... poking out of its head, above a small moon shape. Upon closer glance, it's obvious the thing has no visible feet, its body ending oddly in a cloud like formation. Wade looks exasperated as, every time he moves away from the small thing, it scrambles to resume hiding behind his legs, the Brit rolling his eyes as he rubs a hand down his face.

None of them have a lot of time to react to or absorb the situation they find themselves in, however, as a voice breaks into all of their thoughts. "Hello!" All of the humans jump, turning in a hurry to face this new presence, but the creatures by their sides seem undisturbed, as if they recognize this situation, and some even say hello back while Seth examines the person standing before them. He seems young yet impressive at the same time, thick brown hair ruffling in the wind as he stares at them, a wizened look in his dark eyes. "I am pleased to finally meet you."

Seth takes the initiative, months of being in The Shield having taught him if he wants something, he needs to step forward and speak up or risk never having it at all. "Who are you? And where are we? What's going on?"

The man examines him with a growing smile before he chuckles warmly, outstretching his arms. "This is the Digital World, Seth," he says simply, barely blinking an eye when the man flinches at again being called by his first name by someone he'd never met before. "My name is Luke, you can think of me as your guide while you adjust to this world. What is going on... well, that would take quite some time to explain. Time, I'm afraid, we have very little of right now. The short of it is we need your help." He looks solemn suddenly as he stares down at the eager looking beasts scattered around the humans. "The creatures who have found you and led you to this place are, as they may have told you, Digital monsters, or Digimon as they prefer to be referred as. As you may have guessed from the names, this world, these creatures, they have been comprised of data from what the other world calls the internet. Most data is sound, peaceful, but others have been corrupted by time or evil. What humans would call viruses have slowly infested our world, making parts of it unsound or vulnerable to further attack."

He sighs and paces a bit before turning back to the humans. "We have done what we can, reformatted the world, reset what we could, but it does very little. The viruses keep coming, finding ways to disrupt what had once been a peaceful existence, creating new, evil Digimon faster than we can prepare for."

"What do you expect us to do then?" Miz speaks up, clearly not fully sold on what's going on around them.

"If you agree to become the new Digidestined, or, as they're sometimes called, Chosen Ones, the Digimon you see beside you will become your partners and together you will work to spread peace through out the Digiworld," Luke explains. "With your help, your partners can become stronger, Digivolve into forms better suited to defending vulnerable areas." All of them peer down at the Digimon next to them, lost in thought as they try to decide on what to do from here. "It's your choice, we will accept whatever you decide... but if you choose to help, there's no going back. It's a responsibility you have to be dedicated to seeing through."

Seth stares down into Betamon's eyes, drawn by something that he can't describe, listening as others- Heath, Ricardo, Alicia, Zack, even Dolph- agree easily to this new world. _Another world that needs someone to fight injustice and evil?_ "I'm in," he finds himself saying, swallowing as Betamon's face lights up. Miz is next, despite his continued reluctance, never one to back away from a challenge. This leads to the group of them all turning to look at AJ, Del Rio and Barrett, waiting for their verdicts.

"I suppose if you want something done right..." Barrett sneers, crossing his arms over his chest as the small Digimon flutters from behind one of his legs to the other. "Fine, then, get on with it."

AJ says nothing until the fox speaks up coolly from next to her. "I suppose if you're scared," she taunts, staring at AJ.

"Please!" the freshly former divas champion snaps, reacting exactly the way her potential partner had foreseen. "Fine, I'll help out as well."

This leaves Alberto, the Mexican aristocrat unimpressed by anything he'd seen thus far, his dark eyes traveling from person to person in disgust. The Digimon next to him remains silent, patient as Del Rio weighs the situation he finds himself in, surrounded by people he either never liked or had massive fall-outs with recently. It's only when he looks at Ricardo, who seems unsurprised by his lack of response, that his pride takes a hit, not wanting to be seen as _less than_ his former ring announcer, who had agreed readily to whatever madness this is. "Fine," he snarls, turning his gaze to Luke.

"Perfect," Luke says, gazing at the ten new Digidestined before him. "You will need..." He claps his hands and there's a brilliant flash of light that leaves all of them gasping and blocking their eyes to protect their vision, something warm and durable fitting in the palm of their hands. "Digivices. They are the first thing you will need to help your Digimon become stronger and Digivolve. Follow me, please." As he walks off, the humans reluctantly draw their gazes away from the ridged items in their hands with small screens that resemble phones, except for the weird words and images sprawled along their rough surfaces. He leads them to a cliff, where a tall woman who looks like an angel of war stands, her head tilting towards them though they can't see her eyes, turquoise armor covering half of her face and most of her body, multiple wings coming from various parts of her body. They all gape at her in awe, most of their focus on the staff with a spear on the end that's taller than its wielder. "Ophanimon."

"Luke," she says calmly, standing at attention as they approach. "These are the new chosen?"

"Yes, they are," he responds. "Introductions will have to be done another time, however. There is an issue arising in the Virus sector."

"Understood." Ophanimon steps away from the cliff, revealing a larger screen that is surrounded by a ridged plastic much like what their digivices are made of.

"These portals will take you to different parts of the Digiworld," he tells the confused looking people as they look from the portal to the Digivices. "You need to hold your Digivices out to it, say Digiport open, and it'll take you where you need to go. Give it a try."

None of them seem that inclined to move but finally Seth steps forward, staring down at the dark blue Digivice in his palm for a moment before holding it up to the portal. "Digiport open," he calls out, the gasp that follows swallowed away in a sea of swirling data as he feels himself being sucked into the glowing screen, a rainbow of colors all that he sees for long, tense seconds until he hits the ground hard, grunting when he's kicked in the side and even stepped on at one point by the others falling through to the other side same as he had. Gingerly making it to his feet, he glances around to find the other nine still struggling to their feet, peering around.

They're in a mountainous region, some looking suspiciously like active volcanoes, a fact that leaves most of them even more reluctant to step ahead. "Did he say we're in the virus sector?" Heath says a minute later, the doubt in his voice about as thick as his southern accent.

"I believe so, yes," Barrett says grimly. They all exchange glances before Seth steps forward, looking for the issue that Luke had mentioned to Ophanimon, though it's hard to see anything past the tall ridges. "Do you smell that?" the Brit asks after a moment, Seth pausing as, yes, he begins to smell the acrid stench of smoke as well. He partially scrambles up the nearest mountain until he can have something of a vantage point, looking around until he locates the source- a small wood not that far away, lit in billowing flames as more and more trees succumb. He swallows, staring at the scene before him, when he realizes. The flames are being caused by orange dinosaur-like Digimon, a group of them running around, shooting off fireballs from their mouths with vicious precision.

Seeing the reason for their being brought here, he slides back down the mountain to join the others. "I've found it, come on," he urges them, racing around the mountain towards the spreading fire. The group of them quickly see the problem and follow him, their Digimon eager to help where they can as well.

"Guilmon," Miz's partner snarls, his eyes flashing as he clicks his claws together. Seth can't even keep track of how many of the evil looking Digimon are causing all of this mayhem around the base of the trees, but he knows that they have to do something- there may be other Digimon living in that copse of trees, not to mention how bad things could get if the flames spread out of control. Unfortunately, the heat keeps them back, unable to approach and attempt to stop the rampaging Guilmon, Seth biting his lips as he tries to think of a way through, to do _something._

They're all shocked when there's a soft call from near Wade, the white creature that somehow is his partner finally showing itself from behind him and hovering by his shoulder. "Tear Shoot!" she cries out, voice clear as a gleaming orb forms on the tip of the growth forming out of her forehead, Seth suddenly suspecting that it's some sort of antennae as the force grows in size, stabilizing into a waterball that she sends out towards the flames, it exploding like a wet bomb, diminishing the flames some.

Wade looks impressed but before he can say anything to the creature, a few of the Guilmon approach, clearly taking offense to their handiwork getting tarnished.

"They're bullies," Betamon says confidentially, standing between the nearest Digimon and Seth. "Truly stand up to them and they will run in the opposite direction, I have no doubt. Electric Shock!" A blast of electricity strikes a couple of the Guilmon and they stagger, snarling and scrambling before, as he had predicted, they turn and run off, leaving their fellows to fight on their own.

AJ's fox partner, still ignoring her, leaps forward and crosses her arms over her chest before throwing them out in front of her forcefully. "Diamond storm!" she calls out, sharp shards raining down from her forearms and exploding at the feet of more of the Guilmon, pelting some of them with dirt and rocks.

"Bada boom!" The purple Digimon rushes away from Dolph, hand held high as he snaps his fingers, dark flames forming at his fingertips before he throws it at the remaining Guilmon, the rookies scrambling from this attack as well, the last of their confidence failing with the retreat of the others.

"One more, Lunamon," Wade calls out, Seth turning to find that his partner is forming more energy into a water ball, spinning towards the flame to shoot it off into the trees. As soon as it explodes, soaking the last of the fire, it diminishes, leaving behind smoking, blackened trees. It's far from a pretty sight, but still, it's much better than how it all would've ended up should they _not_ have arrived when they did.

Seth sighs, trying to wrap his head around all of this. It still feels like a dream but, with each passing minute, he finds himself wanting to believe it more and more. Just as he had with that first glance about half an hour earlier, he senses an easy connection with Betamon, like perhaps they could be friends... as he had had with both Roman and Dean. He frowns, glancing around at the nine other people surrounding him. _I wonder why_ they _weren't selected to be apart of this..._

Once they're relatively certain the Guilmon will avoid this area for awhile, eyes of various colors and shapes now peering out through the deadened wood telling them that it's time to go before they're seen as trespassers, they return through the portal to Luke and he congratulates them on a successful first mission. "I am aware of how busy you all are, so you may return to Earth right now. When I have need of you again, I will summon you through your Digivices." He smiles at them before his eyes rest on the group of Digimon, grimacing. "Ah, of course, my apologies, I almost forgot. When you are on earth, of course, you won't be able to keep your Digimon partners out with you in the open, humans would become suspicious. They can, however, remain inside of your Digivices safely until you return here."

He directs them on how to accomplish this, watching as the group of them hold the devices out to their partners. Seth stares at Betamon, taking a breath. "Hold, activated," he calls, watching as a gleam similar to the Digiport's takes over, Betamon turning into data and streaming into the screen of his Digivice, it immediately growing dark as soon as Betamon is safely inside. With this, it's time for them to go home and Ophanimon again sees them off, this time through a different portal that's only visible when the angel Digimon taps her staff against the cliff four times, a small portion of the rock falling apart to reveal a larger, more powerful portal than the one that had taken them to the virus zone earlier.

They quickly take their leave of each other once they're back on earth, barely a word spoken between any of them, and Seth lets himself into the hotel room quietly, the weight of his Digivice, holding his new partner safely within its confines, a vague comfort to him as he sits down on the bed and scrapes his fingers through his hair, looking over at Dean and Roman as they sleep on, undisturbed by his sudden reappearance. He smiles and lays down, relieved for a moment of quiet after the last couple of hours. He's still not sure if it was reality, but he supposes come morning he'll know, depending on if the Digivice is still pressing against his hip or not.

"Where were you?" Dean's sleep-heavy voice breaks into his thoughts, Seth smiling slightly as he rolls over to face the other man. He knows without looking that Roman, across the room on the second bed, is listening intently, merely pretending to be asleep.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told ya," he says, smiling to himself. "Good night, boys."

"Night," Roman grumbles, rolling over to go back to sleep now that he knows Seth's ok.

"Night," Dean echoes vaguely, already mostly asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dolph Ziggler sighs as he presses his face into the soft grass that he's laying on, enjoying the cool feel of the dew on his face, contrasting nicely with the warm sun beating down on his skin. Except that it feels weird, his senses calling out to him that something's watching him. When whatever it is rustles, he sits up and grabs the thing, startled by the warmth of the flesh under his palms- the soft fur... the wild green eyes poring into his. He stares at him for a long moment, shaking his head. "Wha- what are you?" he croaks, dropping him with little warning._

_The creature huffs and glares up at him, dusting off his purple body before standing at his full height- which barely comes up to Dolph's knee. "I'm Impmon," he says proudly. "And I am your Digimon partner."_

It's been about a week now since that first, memorable meeting, and, despite the constant weight of the Digivice in Dolph's pocket, he still can't help but feel like it was all a dream, something his many concussions had caused him to hallucinate. Until, that is, the device begins to vibrate against his thigh and he gasps, glancing around to find that no one's paying him much mind so he pulls the strange thing out and looks down at it, somehow not that surprised when a hologram of Luke lights up in a column from the Digivice.

The man stares at him for a moment before beginning to speak, his voice echoing ever so slightly. "Dolph Ziggler," he greets him. "The Vaccine sector has need of your assistance. Please return to the Digiworld. I have temporarily connected the port on my end with the monitors before you."

Dolph swallows, glancing up at the mentioned monitors before venturing towards them, holding the ridged thing towards them. There's a split second of nothing and then light bursts out from every side, a loud humming accompanying it as Dolph is absorbed into the screen. He lands with a stumbling foward leap, gasping as entrances similar to his occur on all sides, the other wrestler Digidestined appearing around him. They all land a bit breathless and off-balanced, but Seth Rollins has it the worst- the beatdown from fourteen men on Raw is still affecting him, clearly, as he lurches forward and only just catches himself on a nearby outcrop of rock, his arms trembling from the sudden strain. His eyes narrow as Heath Slater, Wade Barrett and Alberto Del Rio smirk and mutter amongst themselves, three of the men involved in the melee against The Shield as ordered by the Authority...

Unfortunately this isn't the time for such things as Luke appears before them, distracting all of the competitors from their lingering issues. "It is good to see you," he greets them briskly, barely giving them a chance to answer before he begins to explain what's going on. "Since the reported issue is on this sector, you won't need to use the Digiport to get to it, but you will have to travel a short distance." Dolph glances over his shoulder at a pale, struggling Seth, not sure how this is going to work out, when the man begins to speak again. "I have provided a map on your Digivices, it will direct you where to go."

When Dolph checks it, the space indicated with a red arrow isn't that far away, but considering how Seth is looking at the moment, any distance is perhaps too far. Sighing, he holds his Digivice out and says the first words that come to mind. "Hold, deactivated." Impmon reappears at his feet in a spiral of lights, shaking himself out once he's freed to do as he wishes. "Hey."

"Took you long enough," the snarky Digimon shoots back, staring up at him. "What's going on?" Dolph explains what little Gennai had told them, showing him the map on his Digivice, and Impmon frowns. "I know that place..."

"Oh?" Dolph expects him to say something else but he remains silent even as the others release their partners and the walk begins, Seth limping pretty badly but keeping his thoughts to himself, no matter how often Dolph looks over his shoulder at him. He keeps up with them all fairly well, no matter how much he grimaces and struggles, Betamon staying close to his side as they progress closer and closer to the dot flashing on the small screen.

It's clear when they approach, cries of pain echoing around them. Strange particles float in the air around them and a strange, morose feeling creeps down Dolph's spine as he stares at them, reaching out to touch them as they pass him, dancing in the breeze before they disappear. "Data," Impmon says in disturbed awe as he examines the shimmering pieces. "Many Digimon have been destroyed here recently." _This_ causes Dolph to freeze, his fingers brushing against one of the clusters, staring down at his partner in disbelief.

"What?" But he doesn't get a chance- more cries of pain followed by data filling the air and all of them pause as a small orange dinosaur Digimon with pained green eyes races towards them just to collapse at their feet, unable to catch his breath or do much of anything else.

Dolph gapes down at him as he struggles to breathe, speak, anything. "He's killed us all," he finally chokes out, green eyes that are almost the exact opposite of Impmon's- wide, and youthful, with innocence and hope to spare- bores into Ziggler's. "Run before he does the same to you..." Before the young Digimon could say or do anything else, a blade suddenly stabs through where he's laying, causing him to shatter into more of the pieces floating in the wind.

The group of Digidestined stand, numb and in shock at what they'd just seen, that level of callous brutality even hard to stomach for the seasoned wrestlers, but they have no time to compartmentalize any of it as the culprit stands at his full height, examining the group with dark eyes only just visible over the rim of a straw hat. He has some features like a bird, a beak and feathers spreading out from his throat all that Dolph can see at first, until he looks down and notices the lengthy talons that comprise his feet. He swallows harshly, taking in two massive swords- one sheathed at his side and one held tightly in a fist. Despite having the arms of a muscular man, burnt gold wings are twitching against his shoulders, adding to his mistique.

"Weakness," he intones in a dull voice, shaking his sword in agitation. "It is all weakness." Before anything could be said or done in response to this, his eyes drop on Seth as he fights just to keep on his feet, still in agony from all he had endured earlier in the week. "It is my duty to extinguish it. The fittest will survive." His sword flashes in the bright sunlight, startling all of them as he flies over them and lands sharply in front of Rollins, who staggers back and collapses against the ground, staring up at the Digimon with a grimace on his pale face. "I will end your misery, human."

It happens so fast, none of them have a chance to respond or even think, when he slashes downwards, time ticking by terribly slowly when... there's a squeech like a bird squawking as Ricardo's partner, Veemon, impacts against the side of the warrior in an unexpected headbutt, sending him skidding a few feet away from the downed Digidestined. Thankfully Seth looks shaken but no more injured than two minutes earlier. "Bada boom!" Impmon suddenly cries out, flames circling the sword-wielding creature as he kicks wildly at him, holding him at bay until Seth finds the strength to drag himself away, Betamon making sure he's ok before joining the fray, their attacks combining and dancing against their opponent's flesh until he swipes at them both with his sword, only just grazing them and sending them flying.

"Impmon!"

"No!" Seth exclaims, his voice breathless and weak as Dolph rushes over to his partner. This, unfortunately, draws the warrior's focus back onto him, eyes narrowing as he takes him in, propped up on his elbows as he tries to focus on what's going on in front of him. He cringes as soon as he realizes, staring up into the face of his to-be killer, swallowing harshly.

"Justice," the Digimon says lowly, realization dawning across his face. "You are a warrior as well. This is truly tragic, but needs to be done. You won't survive this world, not as you are. Humans are inherently weak, the injured ones more so. I am doing you a service... but it is my belief that a true warrior deserves to know the name of the owner of the blade that ends their life. I am Buraimon." Their dark eyes lock and Seth holds his breath, in too much pain to move or try to protect himself. Betamon struggles from feet away, his eyes fluttering as his instincts to save his partner scream at him, despite his own painful injuries.

The cool blade has just pressed against his chest, the tall Digimon preparing to swipe up and then down in one final strike, when a voice calls out, "Now!"

"Poison Ivy!" Palmon cries out, large, thick vines whipping out from the tips of her hands, snaking around Buraimon while he's distracted, tangling around his hands and pinning his arms to his sides as he struggles against the unexpected attack. However this fails as his limbs quickly become heavy and unresponsive in response, her tendrils including a fun little toxin that enters every inch of skin that it touches. "Go!" she orders, pressing back on the offensive, holding him even tighter as the other Digimon regroup as well, not wanting their best chance at bringing an end to this madness to disappear.

"Blue Blaster," Gabumon calls out, thick blue flames pouring from his jaws, Patamon floating nearby.

"Boom Bubble," he recites, his small body expanding before he expells a large bubble of air that strikes the murderous Digimon at the same time as the flames, causing an explosion.

As Buraimon growls and grips his side in pain, more flames issuing from Impmon mix in with Renamon's diamond shards, burning into his flesh even further. He struggles, shaking his head dazedly, startled to find that he is now the weak one, this seeming to snap him out of the bloodthirsty haze he had been haunted by. "No," he breathes, struggling just to stay upright as he presses his sword into the ground. The Digidestined all hesitate, on high alert, as he turns to look at them, pain and exhaustion etched in his face. "This world," he tells him wearily. "It was not always this way. I was not always this way." He looks down at Seth, still slumped at his feet. "We have been diseased by evil, by cruelty." His data begins to destabilize, his form fading in and out before their eyes. "Digimon are instructed not to trust humans... not to believe... in inate goodness... but I sense now that... you are different. You won't allow this world to fall into ruin. I trust that you will find your justice."

And just like that, he's gone, his data floating as the Agumon's had minutes before, leaving the Digidestined staring on in subdued horror. "He'll be reconstructed," Impmon finally offers weakly, staring around at his partner and the others. "Reborn with a fresh start, probably without any memory of this."

"He was one of the corrupted Digimon Luke mentioned when we first arrived here," Seth says vaguely, all eyes turning to him as he struggles once more to stand, wanting to collect Betamon and make sure he's ok too.

"Yes," Impmon confirms, watching as his Digidestined partner kneels down and helps Seth to his feet, staring at him as he breathes heavily, somehow keeping his balance despite the latest attack he's had to endure. "I've heard of Buraimon, he was a wandering warrior with impressive swordskills, but would never ordinarily do such things as we saw here today." All eyes lock on the scorched earth before them where Agumon had once laid, many others like him probably meeting the same fate in this area.

"Hopefully he is reborn into a peaceful existence," Dolph says, lurking near Seth just in case he needs further support as they make their way slowly back towards Luke and the Digivice to take them home.


	3. Chapter 3

_AJ Lee breathes heavily as she takes in the strangely out of place sounds of nature. She last remembers walking side by side with Tamina, her screams fading as her voice breaks, her vocal chords straining with the pain of her loss. The enforcer, quite accustomed to her bipolar attitude, had seemed more off-put by this, and as AJ opens her eyes to find herself in a place she can't remember seeing ever before, she figures Tamina will probably be relieved to have a break from her._

_She sighs, not bothering to move. The loss of her title is like a physical presence, weighing her down. Leaving her scrabbling and wanting nothing more than to curl up in a ball and cry. She's not even interested in why she's_ here, now, _instead of a locker room or the hotel she and Tamina had booked together. She's still laying there, breathing in the fresh air, when clawed, white fur-covered feet walk up and come to a stop just inches away from her bare arm. She looks down, from her flesh to the fur and back before allowing her eyes to travel northwards up at the creature standing before her, looking more like a fox than any possible human she'd ever seen in her 27 years._

_She scrambles to her feet, growing even more shocked when she realizes that they're basically the same height, her eyes narrowing as she peers up at the creature. "What- what are you?"_

_Her displeasure is echoed in the icy blue eyes locked on her. "I am Renamon," the creature says. "I am your Digimon partner." If she had sounded disgusted before, she sounds truly desperate to tear into something right now at having to admit such things. AJ stares on cluelessly, wishing she still has her title belt to hug._

But alas she doesn't have it. And, considering she'd demanded time off from the Authority, who were distracted by this Daniel Bryan thing and had barely blinked twice before granting it, she's pretty sure it'll be a long while until she has a chance to get her hands on it once more. Which adds to her displeasure with everything, compounding the depression she's feeling until opening her eyes every morning is a struggle. And it's clear Renamon senses it, her disrespect towards her _partner_ growing with every passing moment. It annoys AJ, knowing that the Digimon is judging her for the situation she's in instead of the person she usually is, but there's little she can do, trapped in this unending cycle.

She's not sure how this entire Digidestined thing works, still surprised every time she's alerted that she's needed, a digiport appearing on her laptop whether it's powered on at the time or not, but she knows that such things aren't just happening to her because Miz too is always present, despite being up in Canada filming Marine 4. So she swallows down her misgivings and does what need to be done- which, up to now, involves standing and watching and fretting as these powerful beasts war around them, the dance similar to what they all do in the WWE but much more feral.

This time, Luke directs them to the _Data Zone_ , a grim look on his face as they disappear into the Digiport. AJ looks around suspiciously upon reforming in this new zone, Renamon by her side. Everything seems calm, innocent enough, but as the group of them trek through the clearing to the place indicated on the map lighting up Seth's Digivice, they see a flash of gold. "What was that?" AJ demands, it streaming past them once more before Renamon acts, sticking her leg out just before something impacts with her, crashing into the ground at their feet, leaving a deep crater in the ground. The ten humans and nine Digimon gape down at the strange, ostrich like creature with orange feathers poking out of its head and backside, large talons digging into the ground agitatedly as it finds it way upright once more, staring coolly over at Renamon.

"Peckmon," she greets it equally as stoicly. "Still causing trouble I see. I would've imagined you'd have grown out of such juvenile things ages ago."

He digs large ridges into the dirt, snarling over at her. "Best not to judge things you don't understand, Renamon."

She sneers back. "I'm a Digidestined Digimon now, it's part of my job to find out these things." They stare at each other for long, tense moments, before Renamon spots something and stops short. "Is that..." Some of the aggravation leaves her as she stares down at the item wrapped protectively in his golden scarf. "Peckmon."

He looks uncomfortable as she approaches for a closer look. "Kudamon," he confirms her suspicion. "He was overwhelmed and nearly destroyed by a data Digimon who'd trespassed on the Vaccine sector. I was able to help but the Digimon got away with his earring."

She stares down at the gold, remembering what little of the Digimon she'd learned. "But that contains all of the holy power he's gained."

"Exactly. He's not doing well, and I was in the process of looking for a way out of here when someone tripped me up," Peckmon says bitterly, rubbing at his upper leg with an aggravated sweep of his wing.

"The Digiport will be your easiest bet," Renamon offers after a moment of thought. "Perhaps the others can open it and go through with you, make sure you get all of that power back to Kudamon, help him to regain his strength." When Peckmon's eyes light up, she motions him on. "I'll remain here, make sure that no other Digimon disrupt your get-away, but you have to go now."

"Are you sure?" Betamon asks her in amazement, unable to do anything but accept it as she nods in a jerky kind of fashion, turning to face in the opposite direction to guard the Digiport from whatever may come to look for the reclaimed earring. The group of them leave to return the small item to its owner, but the glow has barely dissipated when Renamon realizes she isn't alone- AJ Lee still stands there, staring at her with her head tilted, arms crossed behind her back.

"What are you doing?" she demands in a low, hissing tone.

"What's it look like?" AJ wonders, skipping a little closer before glancing over her shoulder at the still glowing Digiport, absorbing each of the others to spit them out on the other side, whole and ready to return the item to this Kudamon. "We don't like each other, that's clear, but I don't like any of the others either. Even so, apparently we're supposed to be a unified front or whatever. So you're stuck with me." It's not all exactly like she's saying, there's something here that's encouraging her to stay, but she thinks this is the easiest path to take to keep Renamon's focus off of her lingering presence.

Sure enough, the tall Digimon turns her focus back on what's ahead of her, a dark sensation of anger and hunger to have the power contained in that earring back in its possession, and when something shifts, she moves into place, holding her arms out over her chest. "Diamond storm!" The sharp shards rain down upon the ground but nothing else happens, everything still and quiet. Renamon frowns, that sensation still creeping down her arms, but there's nothing she can do about it. The Digiport is now clear, empty. The others have safely gone through. "Come on," she mutters to AJ, now seeing no reason to remain.

The two of them walk side by side to the screen, which leaps to life as AJ holds her Digivice out to it, opening it so they can return to the other sector. Renamon doesn't notice as AJ glances over her shoulder at the fading diamond shards embedded in the ground. She hums before turning into data and getting sucked into the Digiport to return to the others.

Things are thankfully quickly resolved once they return to the Vaccine sector, Kudamon regaining his earring and a fair amount of his strength. This allows the Digidestined to return home, where AJ sinks into her bed and stares at her Digivice for long, quiet moments. Renamon is stored in there but AJ wonders if she can remember the moment- being locked inside a small machine, with very little in the way of entertainment, or to eat or drink. She makes a face before rolling away from the device, yawning.

Her dreams are far from comforting that night, full of strange whispers and faint warmth against her flesh, leaving her wondering if she's coming down with something. _Happy vacation, AJ,_ she thinks glumly, staring up at her ceiling as the heat and the anticipation of the murmurs resuming keeps her awake for a little longer that night.


	4. Chapter 4

_Dark eyes flutter open as Alicia Fox stirs against the cool grass, confused and a little achy as she tries to reorient herself. "Where am I?" she mutters, running her hand over her face. The place doesn't look familiar at all, and the fogginess of her memory does nothing to comfort her. She groans, trying to sit up and prepare for a fight, or just to figure out how to get home- something, anything... when she spots a pretty magenta flower not that far away, her curiosity overwhelming her as something draws her towards it. She's never seen such a flower before and as she inches over to it, she wonders what it may smell like, leaning in to do just that._

_Before she could even get too close, however, a highpitched voice cries out, "Excuse you!" As she falls back, eyes wide and lips parted in shock, the flower she'd almost touched_ moves _, the greenery below it that she had assumed was roots or stalks shifts and moves into a standing position, black- almost alienistic eyes- peering up at her. She stares down at the_ plant... _or_ creature... _or whatever it is, her lips trembling slightly. "Um. Hello?"_

_Alicia blinks in shock as it approaches her, moving easily despite its plant-like appearance. "Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" she screams until it stops moving._

_"Ok, ok." Holding its odd, clawed hands up, it sits down and stares up at Alicia. "It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm... I'm supposed to be your partner."_

_"Partner?" she chokes out after a few strained moments. "What- what are you talking about?"_

_"I'm Palmon," it explains. "We've been paired together to help save the Digital World." As Alicia drowns in more confusion, she smiles softly. "I was waiting for you to wake up after you appeared here, and I guess I dozed off myself. Sorry for startling you. If you can give me a few minutes, I'll try to explain?"_

_Alicia swallows, deciding to be brave- do what she'd done numerous times as a WWE Diva. Take a chance. "Alright. I- I think so, yes."_

_Palmon smiles up at her and Alicia thinks, despite the pure darkness of her eyes, there's a sort of relief in her steady gaze._

After a quiet, unimpressive week where Alicia's only competed once in a losing effort against new Divas champion Paige, she's relieved to find herself back in the Digiworld, Palmon walking contentedly by her side. They hadn't been forewarned what the problem was this time, of course, but Ophanimon had sent them on to the Data Zone, her presence remaining as stable as ever somehow soothing to them for some reason. The map pinpointing where they need to go isn't being very helpful, the terrain it's pointing to hilly and covered in rocks and stones, making it trecherous to climb. AJ and Alicia are side by side, Heath Slater and Ricardo Rodriguez helping them to proceed where they can- when they're not stumbling or cursing over it all themselves- until Renamon stops short, staring ahead with a displeased look in her piercing blue eyes.

Heath and Ricardo bump into them, their vastly different voices apologizing hastily, when Renamon hisses and leaps forward, Alicia gasping as she tracks the graceful fox-like Digimon soar despite not being able to fly, landing heavily feet away as the others all stop and gape at her as well. "Show yourself!" she demands, holding her arms over her chest as if preparing to attack, keeping the sharp diamond shards ready just in case.

AJ approaches her warily, trying to see what her partner is seeing, but Renamon throws an arm out and stops her forward motion- though it's too late, a flash of gold similar to what they'd just seen when Renamon had lunged down forming between her and her Digidestined partner when a startled scream reverberates through the area- Alicia blinks and AJ is gone, Renamon not even hesitating before she leaps again and again, her light and nimble steps following something that the others can't yet see, no matter how quickly they struggle up the rocky embankment to the top of the hill. Alicia gasps as she clears enough to see over the hill, taking in how AJ is standing close to the outcrop, her eyes wide while she struggles against the creamy arm pressed against her throat, tears filling her eyes as she chokes and stares helplessly at Renamon.

"Let her go," the Digimon tells her partner's captor, seeming undisturbed by it being another of her kind- another Renamon holding onto AJ with clearly dangerous intentions.

However, this command goes ignored, his grip around AJ's throat only tightening as he steps backwards, the girl crying for real now. "No," he finally says grimly. "She took you from us. You are next in line to be our leader, but instead here you are, wasting your time with these humans... You are as aware as any one of us that Sakuyamon's power is fading, she is destabilizing! What are we to do when she is gone, and you are stranded on earth because of these humans?" He shakes AJ, who cries out and clings to his arm, not liking how close to the edge of the hill they are- such a fall would probably be nothing to a Digimon, but to a human, potentially fatal.

This is clearly on Renamon's mind as well as she gingerly walks forward, staring her fellow Digimon in the eye. "Killing her won't change any of this," she tells him. "I understand the fear behind Sakuyamon losing her power, we all feel as you do about it, but I could not pass up the opportunity to save this world. Yes, I am aware that our clan needs a leader, but what is the point of doing that if the entire world is in danger of destruction? To help one, I must first save the other, and that is precisely what I'm going to do. You have to let her go."

The frenzied Renamon stares back at her, his features twisted and feral. "Don't you get it? Don't you understand, these humans- they are ruining the natural order of things! We were doing fine without them!"

"You are delusional if you honestly believe that," she says calmly, trying to inch close enough to get AJ away from him while he's lost in the middle of his rant. "We were- still are- killing each other, slowly. Data and Vaccine Digimon, overwhelmed by the Virus Digimon. The Digidestined were brought here to promote peace, rescue those who needed it. Yes, I agreed to step up and be apart of it, because I realized ours isn't the only clan who needs help." These words go right over his head as, angered even further from her unbending stance, he tosses AJ aside and lunges forward to stand nose to nose with Renamon, glowering at her. Neither notice as the former Divas champion staggers on the edge of the precipice, trying and failing to regain her balance.

"AJ!" Alicia cries out as her feet slip, a sharp scream bursting from her as she disappears from sight- but then there's a flash of green, thick vines whipping past the tall diva and curving over the rocks, Alicia looking down in subdued amazement to find Palmon standing by her side, eyes scrunched shut as she focuses on something. A few moments later, the vines protuding from her claws grow taut, Palmon opening her eyes. "Pa- Palmon?"

"Go pull her up, I can't- can't do it myself without risking dislodging her," she grunts. "Hurry, it's windy, I don't think I can hold her for long- they'll snap if they hit the sharp rocks just so..."

"Right, yeah, of course," Alicia gasps, scrambling forward to grab Palmon's vines- something she'd never touched before, surprised by how cool they are, how they pulse with life. Hoping that she's not hurting the Digimon, she tugs back with all of her strength, surprised when Seth joins in, helping her to pull AJ up. The others are scattered around, some peering down at AJ, calling out instructions randomly, and some standing with the Renamon, keeping things from once more growing antagonistic. Though, judging by the look on both Renamons' faces, that would be impossible to easily keep at bay should it.

Finally Mike reaches down and pulls, dragging AJ up to the steady ground. Alicia stumbles over, leaving Palmon to retract her vines in peace, before kneeling down by AJ and brushing hair out of her eyes, shuddering softly as she reflects on how close she had come to not surviving this. If not for Palmon's quick thinking and actions... "AJ..."

"Alicia," she cries out, lunging forward and hugging her fellow Diva as tightly as she can. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"It was all Palmon," Alicia mutters awkwardly, dragging her Digimon into the hug as AJ cries, her tears dripping onto Palmon's flower, it absorbing the liquid. "I'm just glad you're ok." She looks up, watching the two Renamon square off as AJ shakes and sobs into her shoulder, still overwhelmed by how close she'd come to dying.

"This was not the way to go about it," AJ's partner tells the other Digimon, her gaze so cold that Alicia wouldn't have been surprised to see ice crystalizing in the other Renamon's fur. "If I see you anywhere near any of the Digidestined again, I'll delete you myself. No matter what I may think of them, they are our best option in keeping our world safe. They have already helped a fair deal. It is not always about just our clan, there are hundreds of thousands of Digimon depending on these ten, and I can't let you disrupt our missions, no matter what you may think of my decision. Now go, or I will change my mind on sparing you."

He snarls at her but follows her commands, turning and leaping out of sight. Alicia breathes a little easier as soon as he's gone, stroking AJ's hair as she slowly calms down, looking up at the still and watchful Renamon, shuddering anew before burying her face in Alicia's side. The diva sighs and closes her eyes, lightly rocking AJ back and forth. "You're ok, it's going to be ok." But she can't be sure of that, looking from Renamon to AJ. Their relationship has been far from easy up to this point and she doubts that this will ease things along. _Unfortunately, they're stuck with each other..._ "Come on, let's go home," she breathes, relieved when AJ nods and stands, eager to do just that. Renamon looks far from thrilled, remaining quiet as she follows them back to the portal.


	5. Chapter 5

_Heath Slater groans softly. Eyes flutter open when, followed by a much louder, pained groan, he slams them shut once more. Everything's too bright, too loud. He grimaces and rolls over, this only making everything worse as the sun seems to shine right in his eyes. "Ugh, dammit," he sighs, dropping an arm over his face to block it all out._

_"Oh, hey, let me help," a highpitched voice gasps, causing him to jerk as shadows fall over his face, more sufficiently protecting him from the elements as he struggles to shake off the lethargy and sit up. "Hey, it's- it's ok, Heath," a bizarre looking creature with three horns tells him, eyes widening as he scrambles away. "I'm a friend, I promise. My name is Lopmon."_

_"Lop- Lopmon?" he repeats, his accent thicker than usual as he fights to wake up. "Wh- what are you?"_

_"I'm a Digimon," is the response. "And I'm your partner." Heath blinks on dumbly as dark eyes watch him, Lopmon attempting to explain his world, himself, and what he means by_ partner.

Heath stands with the others, listening to Luke as he explains their latest mission. "... There have been random data fluctuations around the different zones. Our investigations have shown that it's originating from the Virus Sector. We need you to go figure out the cause and fix it."

Seth is hurting, this is clear, and Wade's mind is elsewhere, on his title win. Mike looks worn out from filming and AJ barely looks at any of them, still far away in her time off. Ricardo and Del Rio both seem elsewhere as well. Heath looks around the group with a frown, not liking how distracted they all seem. He too has other things to think about but right here, right now, he doesn't see the point of dwelling on anything else when there's a fight of unknown severity ahead. Turning his attention to the portal, he watches the swirling lights and flashes surround him until they finally arrive in the Virus sector, Seth unable to hide the moan that is forced from his lips when he lands heavily on the other side, the others following him in.

Heath's confidence in this mission is even more shaken as they traipse through to where the dot on the map is indicating they should try first. It seems a bust, everything calm and quiet, so they try another, and another, and another. Nothing is succeeded at except exhausting each of them further. They're all annoyed, about to give up, when the next dot directs them to what appears to be an abandoned building, tall and imposing. Heath looks up at it, a shiver of dread passing through him. "This is it," he mutters, Lopmon nodding unhappily next to him, sensing the pure evil inside as well.

The group of them enter, listening intently for any hint of where their target might be located... when the lights flicker and die away, all of them freezing. A second later, it clicks back on, but- "BRO!" Zack cries, turning and diving instinctively as the floor disappears beneath Ziggler, falling into darkness with Impmon by his side. But the broski grabs him and holds on, Dolph only just grabbing onto the tips of his partner's fingers, until the others spring to life, moving to help drag the man and Impmon up.

"Thanks," he pants, slapping Zack on the back before he bends over and struggles to breathe, feeling nauseous and weak at the close call. "Damn... what was that..."

"A defense mechanism?" Heath suggests. When the others look over at him, he flushes. "He senses someone enter, so he erases part of the building so no one can get through safely?"

"This world is one big death trap, isn't it?" Wade mutters, his blue eyes scanning the floor as he watches for another part of it to crumble into nothingness. No one says anything, slowly walking through the building to look for the possible cause of the data failures.

Heath's just walked past a room when there's a flash of light that causes him to pause, looking over into the open doorway with wide eyes. "NO!" Lopmon cries, lunging forward to tackle him as strings of energy slam through, engulfing anything in its path. "Heath, are- are you ok?" He looks as pale and sick as Dolph had minutes earlier, staring down at his partner.

"I, I think so," he mumbles, sitting up and hugging Lopmon close to him. "What- what's going on?"

"It's Datamon," Lopmon breathes into his collar in some terrified awe at the realization. "He- he's a ... he's a very strong Digimon, he can... he sends viruses at other Digimon and sometimes it's enough to delete on contact. I know you're human, but if it had hit you..." Heath rests his chin on top of the Digimon's head, deftly avoiding the triple horns on his forehead as he thinks over what he'd just said, trying to comfort him. "I don't know how we can beat him..."

"We'll manage, we always do," Heath vows to him, glancing around to find the others are hiding around the doorway, careful not to make the same mistake Heath had. Lopmon looks far from convinced but Heath tries to hold onto his hope for their successful resolution of everything going on. This quickly disappears, however, when the doorway protecting them suddenly disappears, Ricardo almost falling into the room where the Digimon is hiding... when a hand grips his shoulder, pulling him back to safety in the gloomy hallway.

He looks up in shock to find that his rescuer is Del Rio, eyes wide on his pale face. Alberto ignores him beyond this, however, pushing him towards Veemon, Gabumon glancing into the room. "Blue Blaster!" he calls out, shooting blue flame into the room to try to smoke out the Digimon inside, or overheat whatever is causing all of the data fluctuations.

"Digital Bomb!" comes a gravelly yell, more flashing lights and streams of corrupted data pouring out of the room towards them. There's no avoiding it, it strikes all of the Digimon and causes most of them to scream in pain as their bodies glitch, become destabilized.

"No!" Alicia gasps, clinging to Palmon as she shudders and squirms in Alicia's arms. "Hang on, hang on-"

Gabumon had taken the worst of it, his eyes locked on Del Rio's face as he tries not to fade away completely. "I'm sorry," he chokes out, each word a struggle.

Before he can respond, Lunamon and Betamon take their places in front of the others, exchanging quick nods. "Tear Shoot!" "Electric Shock!" While Lunamon forms her water ball, Elecmon shoots off electricity into the room, trying to keep her safe from the other Digimon until she's ready to go. Finally, she slings in her own attack and there's a deep, ground-rattling explosion as the electricity and water work together to short-cirquit the machines inside, a loud, terrible scream echoing through out the building that comes from Datamon, there being no possible question over the voice's origin.

As flames shoot up higher and higher, the Digidestined with weakened partners look around desperately for a way to get them outside without destabilizing the little bit of data left that's holding them together. "What do we do?" Alicia whimpers, leaning over her partner protectively.

"Put 'em in the Digivices!" Heath calls out, already doing so for Lopmon. "It, it should keep them in one piece until we can figure out what to do. Luke can help... I hope..." This seems like a surprisingly decent idea to all of the Digidestined so they follow suit until all of the Digimon are safely stored, the ten men and women forming a line until they all feel warm air on their skin, sunshine in their eyes once more.

When they arrive back at the Data sector, Luke is waiting for them, taking their devices with care. "Yes," he agrees soberly. "I will do my best to restore them. It will take a few days, however. I will contact you when they are fine once more"

"Thank you," they echo in similar subdued fashion befores finding their way to the Digiport, which Ophanimon opens for them carefully, due to their Digivices being back with Luke. "Thank you," Heath and a few others mutter to her, all of them visibly relieved to return to earth, try to move past this horrifying moment.


	6. Chapter 6

_Wade lands on the hard ground, stumbling a bit. He looks around with a snarl, glad to find no one is around to see what he had just done. "Where the bloody hell am I?" he mutters._

_"It's the Digital World," a soft, shy voice cuts into his confused thoughts, the British superstar spinning around to glare at whoever is standing behind him, just to stop short to find himself staring down at a small white creature that looks wispy, like clouds, and doesn't even come close to his knee._

_"What is that? Who are you?" he demands gruffly, leaning down to stare at her with his most intimidating glower._

_"It's my home," she says as if it's as simple as breathing. "And I am your Digimon partner, Lunamon. I have been waiting to meet you for a long time, Wade."_

The wrestlers are relieved for their time away from the Digiworld. The helplessness that they had felt at the point of time when their Digimon had nearly been destroyed right in front of them and there was nothing any of them could do for them remains, even now, but they have their careers and personal lives to distract themselves with, as best as possible. None of them are sure about the fate of their partners up to this point in time, having to wait until they're called to the Digiworld once more.

Wade Barrett presses his hands over the cool surface of his Intercontinental title and thinks of the small, pure Digimon he had, for whatever reason, been given as a partner. Gentle blue eyes and a soft voice the rare times she spoke, Lunamon has a strange kind of sensitivity to her that makes their being paired together absolutely nonsensible to him, but weirder things have happened. They'll be heading to Europe soon and he wonders what'll happen if they get dragged to the Digital World during that, but- Before he can even finish the thought, the world tilts and shifts around him, a swirl of light overwhelming him as he grips his title close, knowing what this means.

He lands heavily with a grunt, sucking in a deep breath of air that is fresh and clear of humanistic waste- exhaust, and smog, and every other kind of environmental hazard- before opening his eyes, peering around the familiar grass of the area where they had first met Luke a month and a half ago now. He ponders how the time is rushing past when something white flashes before his vision, Lunamon landing smoothly on his shoulder, staring at him steadily as she holds out his Digivice to him. He gapes at her as if she's a bird and reaches up gingerly to rest his hand on her head, feeling her warm, smooth skin beneath his fingers. With his other hand, he takes the Digivice from her, realizing that he had missed it as well, shocked by how _right_ it feels back in his grip after so long without. "You're alright," he mutters a bit stupidly as she leans into his touch, nodding soberly. As his worry fades away, he finds himself smirking a little, amazed at just how much better he feels.

It takes a bit of walking to find the others but they are all in the process of reuniting with their Digimon who, thankfully, look as well as Lunamon, the group of them all seeming much more relaxed as they kneel by their partners, or hold them close, depending on the level of a bond they'd already built since the day they'd first met. The only odd one out- after all, he himself is currently allowing his Digimon to reside on his shoulder like a _parrot,_ for God's sake- is AJ Lee, who is merely standing near her Digimon partner, Renamon looking as thrilled to be there as her. But the former divas champion has always been odd so the less thought about that particular situation, the better.

Luke for once gives them some time to reassure themselves that their partners are whole before appearing. "Hello, Digidestined," he greets them, his wise eyes glancing around to ensure that everyone is reunited, their Digivices once more in their possession.

"Hello," most of them echo back to him, some statements of gratitude intermingled in there for taking care of their Digimon since they couldn't. Wade says nothing, knowing what, exactly, his presence could possibly mean, not liking the prospects of throwing the group of them back into war so soon after their near mass-deletion, but he knows he's just feeling strangly protective right now, his old Nexus and Corre leadership ways welling up to the forefront. So, as much of a struggle it is, he keeps his mouth shut and watches grimly as Luke begins explaining to them where they'll be going, what they'll be doing. When he says it's another mission in the Virus sector, he bites his lip so hard that it nearly bleeds, glaring over at the other man as the others shift and whisper around him, clearly not liking this new development either.

Even so, they obligingly leave for the sector, all too aware by now that, should they not follow through and help, some terrible tragedy could befall the Digital World, each missed bit of evil acting like a snowfall effect and eventually toppling the entire, delicate balance. And if the group of them huddle a little closer, the Digimon surrounding them in a circle, watchful and tense, none of them say anything about it, all of them feeling anxious and more than a little on edge as a result of the last mission. They follow the blip on the map, Alicia catching the first glimpse of where they're being directed to and gasping so sharply that all of them look up at once, skidding to stop as one as they too see it.

It's a massive, white castle with turrets shaped like chess pieces, as if something out of Alice in Wonderland, and it is imposing and amazing even from a distance. They only take a few more steps, however, when there's an indecipherable shout overhead and rubble rains down upon them and the ground as something strikes one of the turrets, shattering it to pieces around them. Alicia and AJ shriek, the group of them trying to protect their heads from debris, the Digimon also trying to help, when something huge swoops over their heads, another rough sound of collapse as the attacking creature slams a massive red spear through the castle wall, causing more of it to collapse.

"Go!" It's a general call from the most of the Digidestined, and it's needless as most of the Digimon are already off to defend, Wade startled when he realizes that Lunamon is gone from his shoulder, chasing after her fellows. The sounds of their attacks and wide range of voices melt together in a cacophony that leaves Wade struggling to pay attention to the battle as it roars on around them, most of them looking reluctant as they remember all that had happened in the fight with Datamon. The creature they're battling is humanoid, and taller than even Renamon, adding to his uncertainty as they face off against his massive spear, looking so small and vulnerable in the face of the attack. He squeezes his Digivice so tightly that it feels like it could crack apart in his hand, but their Digimon are seemingly holding their own against the warrior with golden horns and spikes poking from his head and shoulders, orange and white fur fanning out behind him like a cape adding to his frightening display.

Flames and energy beams of various colors, shapes and sizes pour from their Digimon, Renamon's diamond crystals heralding their arrival as they embed themselves in the Digimon's side, causing him to roar in anger as he swats at the brief annoyances. Palmon's ivy does nothing, as down Impmon's flames. When Monodramon tries to get close enough to destabilize the monster with his bite, he gets swatted away for his trouble, skidding feet away before controlling his body's motion. Miz's hand tenses at his side as he watches his partner try to regroup, get back into the fight, but all of them freeze when their antagonist lunges forward and starts swiping his spear so quickly that there's no sign of it, not even a blur. The Digimon are moving back as fast as they can but it's clearly only a matter of time before someone is impaled, all of the Digidestined watching on in muted, horrified anticipation. Until-

"HEART BREAKER!" a determined, female voice screams as a glimmer flashes through the sky, a large, sharp sword piercing through the rampaging Digimon straight through the abdomen, stopping him short just before his weapon could gouge through a terrified Lopmon. They all gape, some at the owner of the sword, to the deleting creature, relieved that, at least, this fate hadn't flaid with their actual Digimon.

Once some of the dust has settled, their rescuing Digimon lands close to them and they get a good look at her- she's also tall, another humanoid Digimon, with a flowing pink cape that compliments her battling gear nicely, it also pink in places, though dominately black. Golden hearts poke out here and there, to show her dedication to her post. Swords similar to the one used on the attacking Digimon are poking out here and there from her armor, and she's holding a bizarre staff tipped in gold, with what looks like a mallet at the top of it "Shoutmon X3SD, I see," she mutters to herself before remembering about the Digidestined. "I am QueenChessmon," she greets them, bowing before them. "I wish you many thanks for attempting to defend this castle in my absense. I would've been out here sooner to assist. Alas KingChessmon is a bit of a coward and had gone into hiding at the very first attack, thus I was thwarted from joining you right away due to the need to find him and ensure his protection. I am sorry."

There's a general murmur of acceptance of her apology as the Digidestined check their Digimon, relieved that they're all ok. None of them pay attention to QueenChessmon's probing glance.

"You are troubled," she finally speaks up. "All of you. I believe I can help..." She leaps up and lands right in the midst of the circle of Digimon and Digidestined, smiling beneath her head armor. She goes from person to person, Digimon to Digimon, carefully touching each and every one of them with her staff. "Queen Stamp," she repeats every few moments, her lips twitching into a smile when the stress and anxiety fade away from each Digimon, leaving them eager to continue working at protecting the Digiworld from all of this trouble. She presses her staff then to the humans, all of them amazed that this technique works on them as well, and very grateful for it.

"Thank you-" Seth begins to offer as she rests the tip of her staff against his forehead, his stress and bone-weariness slowly fading away.

"No need," she tells him. "If not for you all, my King perhaps would be dead right now. So I should be the one thanking you." With time, she makes it through the group and they all begin to feel much more comfortable, confident in their abilites to be a true help to the Digiworld and its inhabitants. Once her job is down, QueenChessmon waves at them and heads back inside to keep an eye on the cowardly KingChessmon.

Wade glances over as Lunamon takes her place once more on his shoulder, a smirk forming on his lip. "Let's go home, hm?"

She nods, pale blue eyes locked on his face.


	7. Chapter 7

_Soft, wet bubbles pop against his face, reminding him of youth and sunny summer days, Zack Ryder grimacing as he's pulled towards awareness despite his best attempt. "No, stop, I just wanna sleep," he mutters, slurred as he swats around in front of him, trying to smack his best friend, Chi, but he misses and grunts, rolling over onto his side._

_The voice that greets him is soft, almost girly, and his eyes shoot open as he scrambles away, about to freak out over having a one-night stand while on tour- but his fingers are tangled up in dewy grass, the sky bright blue overhead, and he frowns, sense slowly coming back to him as he looks around. "Zack!" that voice exclaims again, a small, orange rodent- hamster maybe?- with wildly flapping wings and soft blue eyes floating up within his eye range as he gapes. "I'm Patamon!" He continues to chatter as he lands on top of Zack's head, grinning down at him. "I'm so happy to meet you! I'm your partner!"_

_"My-my what? Is this a dream?" he asks, scooping the creature off of his head and staring at him in utter confusion. "You're the weirdest tag partner I've ever seen."_

_He giggles in his hands, shaking his head. "Not tag partner! I'm your Digimon partner!" As Zack continues to gape at him, he trills and once more flies onto his head, seeming comfortable atop of his spikey hair._

Zack pats the young Digimon behind his weird wing-like ears, stroking the soft fur there as he stirs in his arms, wide blue eyes opening in a tired blink. "Hey, sleepy head," he greets him. "What d'ya say we get this show on the road, bro?" When Patamon nods, he holds him closer and chuckles, falling into step once more with the others, staring at Ziggler as he and Impmon debate something, barely paying attention to much else around them. Their latest mission had been for this very zone, so they hadn't had to travel via Digiport... but it had called for a fair amount of walking, Zack wishing for a few minutes that Patamon was bigger so he could fly the group of them to wherever that little dot on Seth's digivice is telling them they have to go.

"How much further?" Ziggler asks, surprising Zack at vocalizing what the broski himself had just been wondering.

"Not long," Seth mutters, which is little consolation to any of them, as he had been saying the exact same thing for the last hour or more. Except that this time it ends up being true, all of them coming to a stop at the bottom of a tree and looking up into its branches. "The dot's right here."

"Well, this seems peaceful enough," Dolph offers, which of course is famous last words as, just as soon as the words leave his mouth, a yellow laser slices into the ground at Dolph's feet, causing all of them to jump in fright.

"Get away!" a young sounding creature yells down at them. "This is my home! No one else's!" More wildly shot lasers rain down upon them and the group of them start scattering, trying to avoid the attacks.

"Damn!" Zack hisses, finally ducking behind a downed tree and glancing down at Patamon. "What was that?!"

"It sounded like Sparrowmon," he says doubtfully, fluttering up slightly to catch another glimpse of that tree. "Sparrowmon!?" Zack somehow hears it first, only just grabbing Patamon and pulling him back down to his chest before another murderous yellow beam stabs the air over their heads, Patamon's eyes wide with horror as he realizes just how close a call that had been. "Thanks, Zack," he breathes, gulping a little. He stays hidden, but not quite ready to give up on his friend yet. "Sparrowmon! Why are you attacking us?"

Zack glances up, trying to locate the others, when Sparrowmon responds, his voice shaking harder the longer he talks. "These copse of trees used to be guarded by Dominimon, but he disappeared ages ago. Since then, trees have fallen, my fellow winged Digimon have all been destroyed or left, leaving this singular tree behind with no one left to watch over it except for me. For that reason, no one is allowed to touch it! Stay away!"

Patamon closes his eyes briefly before he looks up at Zack, a sort of understanding passing between them despite how short the amount of time they've actually known each other is. He taps Zack's arms with his ears as he takes off, flying in loops towards the tree. He can sense Zack's anxiety from here but he is the only winged Digimon in the group so he ignores everything, including his own worry, and lands smoothly on a branch across from Sparrowmon. The laser beams immediately stop and Patamon floats a little closer, holding his paws up in deference. "We're not here to hurt you," he tells the shaking creature. "We were notified there's a problem here, and we would like to help you."

Sparrowmon sniffs and scrubs at his face with the back of his gloved hand, the armored plates along his body that looks like sharp feathers when the sun gleams on them in certain angles flexing smoothly with each movement. "You can't help me, no one can! I- we need Dominimon!"

Patamon stares at him, hesitantly flying closer to him. "Sparrowmon, think for a minute. Who keeps destroying these trees? Is it any Digimon in particular or..."

Sparrowmon chokes, his eyes shining bright in the faint sunlight able to make it past the trees. "I... I don't know," he gasps out painfully, shaking his head as power fluxes through the laser in his hand. "I don't..." Patamon's just touched him when he seems to convulse, almost falling off of the branch. "NO!" Horrible flashes of memory returns to him, news- news of Dominimon's defeat, his data streaming over them, through them. And Sparrowmon had hidden by some bushes surrounding a nearby pond, watching fitfully as his fellow winged Digimon had fallen, destroyed as quickly as Dominimon had been, the trees snapping apart at the roots before him, and... he's all that's left, the evil Digimon leaving with loud laughter and smug yells, celebrating in destroying yet another part of this sector. This tree, spurred into creation by the data of his fellow Digimon, had formed, tall and strong and beautiful, and he's sure when he sits in it that he can feel Dominimon's strength as well. The memories that he had so carefully blocked out until now done, he does fall then, not caring enough to stop his rapid descent or anything else. But it doesn't matter, there is little to no physical pain as he lands in warm, unfamiliar arms. "Dominimon?" he mutters, struggling to open his tear-filled eyes.

"No, bro, sorry, it's not Dominimon," Zack mutters to him, sympathy in his deep green eyes as he cradles the trembling creature in his arms, looking up as Patamon rests on his head once more. "C'mon, let's get you to Luke, he might be able to help you."

"No, no," Sparrowmon sobs and shudders, suddenly regaining some of his fight. "I can't leave the tree, it's the only- the only thing remaining- I have to stay-"

But Zack holds on tighter, Patamon flying down into his line of sight. Sparrowmon stops struggling, their light eyes meeting as Zack's partner smiles kindly at him. "We just want to help you find peace, Sparrowmon. This tree isn't going anywhere. If you would like, we can come by and check on it to make sure it's alright, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to continue to stay here." Patamon stares at him worriedly, not liking the signs he's seeing right now. Destabilization of one's data can happen so quickly that it's snuck on many Digimon Patamon has known over the years and now that he has the means to make a difference, he's determined to keep it from happening to Sparrowmon. "Come on, please."

Sparrowmon wipes again at his eyes, glancing back at the tree. "Dominimon..." He gasps faintly as the bark seems to flash, somehow, someway, and he thinks he's losing his mind. But the longer he stares at it, the more comforted he feels, as if the Digimon he had respected so thoroughly is giving his permission to his leaving this area. Looking back at Zack, he nods lowly. "Al- alright. I'll come with you."

Zack nods, grinning as he glances around. The others had hidden when the laser show had begun, then stayed back to give Zack and Patamon time to defuse the situation the rest of the way. Now that that's done, they recollect themselves and reform the group to walk back to the main Digiport where Luke is typically nearby, hoping that he can find a way to help Sparrowmon, relocate him to another place with more winged Digimon such as himself. Zack chuckles and watches as the two young Digimon play over his head, Patamon slowly bringing a playful side out in Sparrowmon, who had grown sober and wan after such a lengthy period of solitude.


	8. Chapter 8

_Bright blue eyes open to a strange, unfamiliar world. The Miz sits up with a grunt, rubbing at his eyes and wondering what kind of prank the boys are throwing on him now when... something heavy drops atop his head and he jerks, looking behind him with a grimace, reaching up to check his head. However, he stops quickly when his fingers brush against something warm and rough, frightening him as he fails to recognize the feel. Looking up, he scoots backwards at finding something purple towering over him while he's crouching on the ground, quickly making it to his feet as adrenaline thrums through him, his heart racing in response. "What are_ you _?!" he demands, staring at the creature who oddly resembles a dragon._

_"I'm Monodramon," the beast says simply. "I am a Digimon. We're going to be partners... It's a long story, but we have to meet up with the others, where more will be explained. Follow me."_

_And despite everything in him telling him not to do it, he finds himself following along agreeably, eager to see just what the end result of this will be._

Which leads them here. A handful of missions behind them, friendships formed, even some good memories despite all of the fighting and scary moments each had provided. Luke had sent them back to the virus zone, a prospect that none of them are thrilled with after what had happened with Datamon, but they go. Not without muttered complaints, of course, most of them standing a little closer to their partners as they go where indicated, but there's nothing to be done. In the end, they still feel obligated to help innocent Digimon when possible.

Smoke and flame meet them before they're prepared for it, harsh memories of before still playing around in their minds. They all tense and look for the culprit, Renamon able to see before the others due to her taller height, and sharp eyes. "Musyamon." As if the name is swept away by the wind, calling to its owner, there's a sharp sense of foreboding following that break in the silence and they all stand at attention, waiting, listening, expecting...

And then it comes. A sword, long and alit in vicious flames, slices through the air and if not for Monodramon's heightened senses as well, Mike's not sure how much of him would be left standing- but the dragon lunges forward, tackles him aside, and the weapon embeds itself in the soil, burning its surroundings black. Mike gasps and chokes, looking up as a tall Digimon with battered, purple wings and armor of various colors and textures covering every inch of his body, none of which really match or make sense to the naked eye, slams into the ground before him, sending aftershocks through the surrounding surfaces. Crazed blue eyes stare down at him as the Digimon- Musyamon- stomps forward and collects his sword, prying it out of the ground as if it's merely stuck in butter.

Renamon moves first, spreading her long creamy arm out before them, shielding the group of them from him. "Back away," she warns him coolly, barely flinching when he sneers at her, flames building along his blade once more. "Very well, then. Diamo-" She's only gotten halfway through the attack summons when his large fist slams into her mid-section, sending her skidding far away, causing a bit of a rockslide as she slams into a nearby cliff, sliding back down to the ground, covered in rubble and dust.

AJ lets out a shocked little cry, Mike scrambling to his feet as the remaining Digimon regroup and stand up to the monster, all waiting for his next move. He's clearly lost it, swinging his sword around and laughing gleefully at the destruction he's caused, Mike looking over his shoulder to realize- the flames and smoke they had been greeted by hadn't just been some random thing, no. As far as his eye could see, a crumbling, half-destroyed village sprawls behind them for miles. He swallows and considers how many lives an attack of such magnitude could cost, his eyes growing cold and dark. "Monodramon," he snaps, turning to find his partner waiting, eager to also get some vengeance. For Renamon, for the other Digimon lost, for how close Mike had come to...

That one word appears to be enough. Not just for Monodramon, however, as his first movement towards Musyamon starts a domino affect, all of them rushing forward to stop his madness. The Digimon with flame or physical based attacks wisely fall back, waiting for an opportunity or to see if Monodramon may need their help, which leaves Betamon, Lopmon, Lunamon and Patamon at his back. Musyamon laughs at them, clearly not intimidated by their general sizes, none of them coming to his knees, but Monodramon seems unfased at the mocking of his team. "Go," he whispers.

They respond eagerly, their various air and electric attacks converging with Lunamon's water blast, slamming into Musyamon and only making him laugh harder, forgetting for a minute- the flames disappear from the redhot metal of his sword, and Monodramon sees his chance. Lunges forward and clamps his jaws down on the sword, feeling as it destabilizes between his teeth, Musyamon immediately realizing as the handle rattles in his grip. He screams and shakes it, sending Monodramon off in a wild sweep, but the damage is done. The sword falls into small fragments of data in his hands and Musyamon's screams turn into roars of painful anger, all of the younger Digimon wincing away from him.

He's still losing it when they hear shifting from the left, all turning as one to watch as Renamon painfully unearths herself, her fur matted with dirt and grime, eyes dull. She looks determined, however, as she holds a paw against her midsection, breathing heavily. Her diamond shard attack comes quietly, with no warning, zinging through the air before they embed into various parts of Musyamon's body, some dinging harmlessly off of his armor, but a lot digging into his exposed flesh, leaving him writhing and yelling as finally, he's deleted, his crazed anger evaporating with the rest of his data.

The village continues to smolder behind them as Renamon collapses to her knees, AJ surprising all of them by rushing forward to catch her partner before she faceplants into the ground, the tension between the two of them forgotten, at least for now. Mike swallows harshly, looking from where Musyamon had once stood over to where AJ is currently supporting the taller Digimon, to the partially destroyed buildings behind them. "We need to, um. We need to search for survivors," he finally spits out, pointing towards the village.

AJ stays behind, of course, and although they only find a few villagers in need of rescue, the air still thick with freshly fragmented data at spots, it's cathartic somehow. Proves to them that the Virus sector is something they _can_ still find some level of success in, those few thankful Digimon they _do_ find offering comfort to them. Makes it easier to see returning here more often in the future, to help others like them.


	9. Chapter 9

_Ricardo Rodriguez groans softly, his head spinning as he struggles to sit up, reorient himself. He's pretty well intuned with the world around him, and this feels like nothing he's ever experienced so far. There's just a weird tension in the air that he's never felt before. He rubs blurrily at his eyes, trying to figure out what happened, why he's outside when, last he remembered, he was training at the performance center._

_"This is definitely not that," he grunts, brushing off his forearms and trying again to figure out where he's at. His surroundings don't even resemble any place in Florida he's ever been and he swallows harshly, growing more and more uncomfortable the more time passes. He's just made it to his feet when he hears a strange voice. Turning slowly, he finds a blue creature with wide eyes staring up at him._

_"Hello," the small beast, who barely comes up to his knee says, smiling slightly. He looks like a dragon, a sharp yellow V between his eyes. Ricardo stares at him for a long, quiet moment, reflecting on how similar the creature is to things he's drawn over the years, and this causes him to shift nervously. "Um, my name is Veemon. I'm a Digimon, and this is the Digital World. You're my partner."_

_Ricardo glances around, taking it all in slowly. It's like an anime come to life, and he's not sure what to think about it._ A dream? Maybe I smacked my head while training? What's going on? _But Veemon approaches and rests his arm on Ricardo's, his warmth surprising the former ring announcer as he looks back down at him. He feels real though..._ C'mon, Ricardo, everything you see every day, and you're not going to believe in this? _"My partner for what?" he asks, kneeling down next to the little guy._

_Veemon's responding grin is so bright and cheerful that Ricardo can't help but smile as well, the last of his reservations drifting away._

Things are tense as they travel through the Digital World this day. The group of them had slowly begun to find their way, learning the ways of the Digital World, details about the different zones, and how best to fix various situations they find themselves in, but all of the ease they'd gained is gone now, in wake of what Seth Rollins had done. None trust him, all keeping a close eye on him as they progress on to the Vaccine Zone. The Digimon clearly don't understand what's going on, but not a word is spoken as they walk towards the sea, Wade keeping an eye on the dot listed on his Digivice.

Ricardo is dazed for a moment by how pretty the sea is, looking down at it, when the water parts and wide green eyes stare up at him, startling him as he leaps backwards, taking a deep breath before he ventures forward. "Hello?"

The green eyes blink and he realizes that they're connected to a small, white seal-like creature with purple stripes and dots all over its body, large claws giving Ricardo pause. "Hello," he greets him, climbing up onto the sand. "My name is Gomamon. You are humans." Ricardo nods as he continues to examine them. "Digidestined?"

"Yes," Seth speaks up, all of their focus turning back on him, the tension once more ramping up. "What's going on?"

Gomamon clearly senses the sharp change in their attitude, but he shakes it off, his own needs more pressing than whatever issues the people before him may be going through at the moment. "There is a clan of us Gomamon... we live in peace in the water, playing and helping out our fellow aquatic creatures. But things changed; a darkness took over the sea and my fellows began to turn evil. I hid, it didn't affect me, and they're all gone now." His green eyes look sad and dull. "I'm all alone, but I sense that they will return and try to turn me as well. I'm not sure what to do."

Ricardo swallows, sympathetic towards the small creature. "What can we do to help you?"

Gomamon stares up at him. "Help me to find my brethern? To save them from whatever darkness has possessed them?"

The group of humans and their partners exchange glances, none of them exactly eager to include Seth in this decision, but in the end, it's unanimous. "Tell us how to help and we will," he says simply, some of the darkness that had followed him from Raw to Smackdown in his clipped words, but he doesn't waver from a determination to see this through, to most of their relief.

Gomamon quietly turns back to the water. "We need a way to find where the others have gone," he says quietly. "Perhaps if your Digivices can direct us-"

"They don't work that way," Ricardo interjects slowly. "They're set in advance to show us where the mission we need to focus on is at. It can't just... find any Digimon like that."

"I see. Perhaps if we go to nearby villages and ask, someone will have seen something..." He muses it over as the Digidestined trail close to the sea, trying to plan a good strategy in finding them and helping them.

"What's wrong, Lunamon?" Wade's thick accent breaks into all of their thoughts, however, everyone's eyes turning towards the wispy Digimon whose antennae is twitching, her eyes wide with fear.

"Something's not right here," she mutters from her place on Wade's shoulder. "Not right at all... the sea is... the sea is sad..." She shudders. "Wade, please-"

But before she can say anything else, an attack is called out, none of them having even a second to prepare when a flood of fishes come from the sea and wash over them, leaving them gasping and choking at the tidal wave of water that pours over them with terrifying force, all of them knocked off of their feet. Shouts and cries rent the air, but there's no stopping it, the force of the water and the slippery fish make it impossible to control their forward momentum, all of them washing out to sea in a blink of an eye.

Ricardo struggles to the top, gagging out water as he fights off the lingering grasp of the flopping fish, brushing the hair out of his eyes as he tries to look around for the others- for Veemon, for _anyone_ who could make sense of what just happened. But what he sees turns his stomach, leaves him struggling even harder to get away.

"It's unfortunate," Gomamon says simply, staring down at him from where he's currently standing on the beach, watching him struggle to stay afloat as the fish fight against his every movement. "I suppose you humans think you _are_ helping the Digital World, but in the end, you are just adding to its inhabitants' weakness and inability to handle their own problems. No matter how many attempts are made to help us, only we can help ourselves. So, sorry to say, you all have to go."

Ricardo blinks the water out of his eyes, peering at the Digimon who had joined Gomamon in the last few minutes. There is a strange Digimon with a pure metallic ball for a body, its arms and legs covered in flame designs, and two whips ending in spikes floating on either side of its body. Next to them is plant type creature that almost resembles Alicia's Palmon, with noted differences. Purple protrusions flit from her back, looking like spiked wings, and her flower is much larger, with numerous colors.

But the third new Digimon is what truly gives Ricardo pause. It towers over everything, its body covered in metal armor, huge claws and teeth all that Ricardo can focus on as he tries to make sense of the dinosaur like creature he's looking at, swallowing heavily. "Where is everyone?" he whispers, suddenly fearing that he's the only one who's survived this long, the fish only now drifting away, losing interest in him for whatever reason. _But perhaps the better question would be, what is it with this week and betrayal?_ he thinks, staring once more into Gomamon's eyes and wondering why exactly he'd felt a connection with the trecherous Digimon. "What do I do now?"

Gomamon's eyes are cold and unyielding as he stares down at him. "Die?" Turning to his fellow Digimon, he nods. "It's time."

All Ricardo can do is watch, horrified, as the four Digimon converge upon the part of the sea where he and the other Digidestined had been sucked in.


	10. Chapter 10

_Alberto Del Rio groans, a strange, sharp pain stabbing up his back as he struggles to open his eyes. "Ay dios mio," he grunts, attempting to roll away from the agony. By the time he can see, he's half on his side, startled to find he's staring at glistening blue water, not unlike the pond on his grounds back in Florida. Which makes no sense, he had been nowhere near the state, much less his home. Rocks are scattered all around, probably what had been the cause of his pain moments earlier._

_Shaking his head, he's about to brush it off as a jetlag induced hallucination or just a nonsensical dream when a cheerful voice sounds right in his ear, nearly sending him a foot in the air. "Hello! ... Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."_

_Alberto turns to look again, now staring in weird fascination at the bizarre creature with wide, brown eyes gazing back at him calmly. Blue and white striped fur covers his face, paws and back, leaving only his midsection and feet uncovered. Alberto has seen a great many creatures over the years, but no matter how long he stares, he just can't determine what is standing before him. So he does the first tactful thing he can think of. "What_ are _you?!"_

_The beast doesn't look offended, however. Merely smiles and tilts his head. "I am Gabumon, your Digimon partner."_

_At this, Del Rio sneers. He's never needed a partner in his career or real life, getting by just fine on his own. "Tsh, right. Well, as disturbing as this has been, I'll be waking up soon, and..."_

_Gabumon doesn't lose his calm smile as Del Rio continues babbling on about his road to becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion once more, waiting until he talks himself out and stands up, walking in a random direction, just to get away from Gabumon's piercing stare. Alberto ignores as Gabumon trails after him, waiting to wake up from this insanely lucid dream, but the longer this doesn't happen, the more worried Del Rio becomes, glancing around desperately for some clue where he's at._

_Finally at the end of his rope, he spins around and glares Gabumon down. "Stop following me, you perro!"_

_Gabumon's lips twitch and he shrugs. "Dog, huh? You say that as thought it's an insult... and anyway, I won't be following you anymore, no." He brushes past Alberto and walks towards something with purpose. "Because we're here now."_

_Alberto shakes his head, not understanding as he slowly turns to find a man staring at, piercing eyes seemingly peering straight through him. Gabumon is now standing between this strange person and a group of other odd creatures and people. It takes Alberto a long, confusing minute to realize that they're his follow WWE competitors. He swallows harshly. "What is going on?"_

Alberto comes to, wet and cold. He chokes and coughs, the memories of his first time in the Digital World playing through his mind and he gasps, sharply relieved when Gabumon appears in his vision, holding onto him as he guides him to a small bar of sand in the middle of the sea, barely wide enough for both of them to fit on, but they manage, Gabumon patting Alberto on the back as he spits out more water and looks up, shaking his head. "What happened?!"

"Gomamon attacked us," Gabumon says grimly. "Stay here, I'm going to go look for the others, we have to stick together until we sort all of this out." Alberto nods, watching as he dives into the water and disappears from sigh. Only a few moments pass before Betamon and Seth Rollins appears, clearly having the same idea Gabumon had. Betamon too dives back into the water to help once he's sure Seth is secure against the sand, leaving the former Shield member and Alberto behind to ignore each other while they wait and watch for any sign of their partners, or the others.

There's so little room on the inlet that before long, more waterlogged Digidestined are hanging from the sides, Gabumon making sure that Ziggler and Barrett aren't about to lose their hold and sink back into the water before he resumes searching the waters, Betamon bringing back AJ a few moments later.

Alberto can't help but think it's looking more and more like a scene out of that ridiculous Titanic movie, the Digimon floating aimlessly near their human partners, trying to ensure there will be enough space for them all to at least cling to, since all ten of them definitely won't be able to fit.

The next time Betamon and Gabumon return, it's with Zack and Heath in tow, Wade and Dolph helping them to cling to the sandy edge as they gasp and shiver, relieved to be touching something close to solid ground again. An unspoken worry passes through them all as they take in Zack and Heath's condition, hair stuck to their pale skin, clothes torn and adding to the chill that's causing them to shiver violently.

It doesn't bode well for the three yet to be found or their Digimon, but no one wants to vocalize such thoughts.

Gabumon and Betamon are gone for a long time, the others clearly preparing themselves for the worst outcome, when finally they return, Mike draped over Monodramon's heavy body, and Alicia being carried between Palmon and Gabumon. They all breathe a little easier upon finding that the other two are still alive, even if their breathing is a little weak and slow. _But..._ Alberto looks out at the water, a thrill of only just ignored terror returning with a vengeance as the other Digidestined realize who's yet to be found. "Where's Ricardo?"

Betamon and Gabumon try again and again, diving into the water to look, but there is no sign of Veemon, no hint of Ricardo's presence. Alberto closes his eyes, tries not to think about what this more like than likely means.

Gomamon's claws dig into Ricardo's shoulder as he works through the currents, the three menacing Digimon behind them only adding to the ring announcer's fear. He wonders where the others are, if they're alright, where Veemon is when he hears, as if summoned by his thought- "Vee headbutt!"

Out of nowhere, there's a flash of blue and Gomamon grunts, his grip on Ricardo tearing away roughly- slicing through some of the flesh on his arm in the process, blooding splattering into the water, tinting it pink, but there's no time to react to it, Veemon grabbing Ricardo and dragging him as far away as he can before the Digimon regroups.

"You're ok," Ricardo gasps, swimming as best as he can despite the pain stabbing through the nerves in his arm, blood still trickling lazily down his sleep.

"I'll be better as soon as we find the others, come on," Veemon breathes, Ricardo nodding. "There's a bit of a sand strip nearby. If the others know this area like I do, they'd have gone there to regroup before trying to figure..." His words die away abruptly, Ricardo looking at him with a lack of comprehension as something green and thorny pokes out of his chest, Veemon's eyes widening in pain and fright. "R-Ricardo," he chokes out before the vine retracts, scattering data as it goes.

"Veemon!" he cries out, grabbing for his partners before he can sink under the waves. There's nothing he can do, he realizes this before he even looks at the spreading hole in his partner, the data degrading and scattering in the water before disappearing entirely. He's deleting. "No, no, no," Ricardo sobs, only just noticing as the more feral version of Palmon approaches, his arms pressing Veemon closer as he squeezes his eyes shut, waiting to feel the stab of her thorny vines as well, bringing along his own death, when...

"BLUE BLASTER!" The now familiar blue flames tease the surface of the water before impacting with Palmon, sending her back with a loud squeech. Ricardo gasps and looks up, tears in his eyes as Alberto's partner takes Veemon from him gently. "Grip the back of my fur, Ricardo," he urges him kindly and, one his command is followed, starts swimming quickly to the sand strip, Ricardo crying harder when he realizes just how close they had been to what Veemon was talking about before everything went so terribly wrong.

By the time they arrive, Veemon is barely conscious, his last grip on life failing as Gabumon lays him onto the sand. Miz, who is now awake and looking a little stronger, helps Ricardo onto the sand, all of them silent and somber as the young Digimon opens his eyes to find Ricardo hovering over him, tears dripping down onto his already soaked fur. "I'm so sorry," he chokes out, Veemon piecing together the strength to shake his head in response.

"Not your fault," he manages before more of his data destabilizes. "Was my honor... to be your partner..." He sighs through a shudder, his lips twitching up into a weak smile before he explodes into small fragments of data, Ricardo's shoulders slumping as he sobs over the few remaining particles.

"No," he keens, resting his hands over them before they too disappear. "Veemon..."

"Aw, so sad," the now infamous voice of Gomamon greets them, the group turning to stare as the white Digimon peers up at them from the water. "Don't worry, you won't be mourning for long. Either way, this story was going to end the same. You all will die here, one way or another."

Alberto and Gabumon approach, the Mexican aristocrat sneering down at him. "It's your fault Veemon died," Del Rio tells him. "You honestly think a coward such as you has any chance against us?"

"He's not alone," Ricardo only just chokes out through his tears as Gomamon laughs uproariously, loud splashing of water shutting them all up as first the Palmon that is so vastly different from what they're used to appears, using her vines to pull herself up onto the bar of sand.

Alberto is still unconcerned until the sound of metallic buzzing reaches them and they all look to find a dinosaur coated in metal armor swimming towards them, his body seemingly unaffected by the water, another Digimon looking clearly at home on his back as he glides through the water. "Metal Tyrannomon X, Mamemon X, and Palmon X, it took you long enough to join us," Gomamon says coolly, smirking as all of the Digidestined seeing the group of four together for the first time pales in response. "Welcome to the party." He begins to laugh again.

The Digidestined all try to group together despite half of them still being in the water, Gomamon only laughing harder at their feeble defense, most of the Digimon also encumbered by being in the water. Even Gabumon, who had been taking charge since everything had gone so drastically south, looks clueless. Gomamon's laughter dies away and he smirks at MetalTyrannomon X. "Finish them."

"Nuclear laser," the massive creature roars, opening his mouth as a bright flash of a laser beam shoots out from between his teeth, barreling towards the group of people and Digimon with the clear purpose to tear through them, large enough to take most of the strip of sand with it, but... just before the Digidestined's lives can flash before their eyes, there's a golden flash of light, the laser crashing against it and rebounding, MetalTyrannomon X only just moving in time to avoid it.

Gomamon gasps, his eyes narrowing. "Who's there?!" he demands angrily, looking around for some sign of who would dare do such things to him and the others. There's another flash of light, so bright that everyone has to look away, including MetalTyrannomon, and when they all look again, the rookie Digimon who had been in charge of the mission is gaping on in horror. "No way..."

Ophanimon is standing before them in her glory, holy light blanketing her as she holds her arm out towards MetalTyrannomon X, sneering as she looks at them. "You are not welcomed here, this zone is not meant for X Antibody Digimon," she tells them coolly. Before anything could be spoken, she presses her fingers together, the three Digimon disappearing into a blast of light that resembles the shield that had protected them from a fatal blow just moments earlier before she turns to look at Gomamon. "So, what should do we about you, hmm?"

He stares at her incredulously before shaking his head. "I was to be the next to receive the X Antibody, as soon as I had led them to destroy the Digidestined! They were to make me stronger, you have ruined _everything!_ " He loses it, dives out of the water and appears to be trying to break through the shield that Ophanimon is still maintaining, his claws cracking against it, making a soft tinkling noise as though he's struggling to get through glass. Eventually, in time, he tires himself out but he continues fighting to get to the Digidestined, a maddened look on his face. "I will become stronger! I will kill you," he snarls at the Digidestined, uncomfortably close to the still grieving Ricardo.

Del Rio somehow senses what's about to come, gripping his former ring announcer's unbloodied arm and dragging him away from where Gomamon is pounding against the protective shield. Sure enough, the Digimon's exhaustion and stubbornness work against him, a soft snapping sound coming only moments later causing him to freeze as he looks down to find that the claw he had been trying to break through with... had broken, shattering as data streams through the air. "No, no," he chokes out. "No!" More of his body disappears, it not stopping with just his claws, his disbelief leaving him choking. "I was to be-" But before he could even finish the sentence, he's gone, nothing more than data clinging to the shield before disappearing entirely.

Now that the danger is gone, Ophanimon shatters her shield and hovers carefully over the water, looking down at the Digidestined. "I am afraid I can't promise that it's a permanent reprieve, but for now the X Antibody Digimon will not bother you. I have done all I can in that regard, by sending them away, but more likely than not, they will return."

"What are X Antibody Digimon?" Del Rio speaks up gruffly, unconsciously maintaining his grip on a still in shock Ricardo.

"We are unsure how they originally came to be, but they are a group of Digimon carrying a certain antibody that is very rare, it leaves them with different appearances and abilities than the standard Digimon, and usually causes them to be stronger, more ruthless. There aren't many of them in the world, but we do what we can to keep them away from peaceful zones and villages."

Ricardo abruptly pulls away from Alberto, his former employer flushing slightly as he realizes just how long he'd been holding onto him, even once Gomamon had destroyed himself in an attempt to call back the X-Antibody Digimon, get what had been promised to him. But now that the danger's over, there's no reason to stop Ricardo from returning to where Veemon had been when he had faded away, none of them eager to stay here, but also not wanting to disrupt his grieving. It's clear by their faces that each of them can only imagine how _they'd_ feel if it had been their partner to delete right before their eyes. Alberto wonders if perhaps Veemon will be reborn, and if so when and where, when all of a sudden- Ricardo's Digivice lights up, thrumming in his pocket.

He chokes, pulled from his painful guilt, and tugs the Digivice out of his soaked jeans, staring down at it in amazement as a beam of light blasts from it, stabbing through the blue sky as far as any of them can see. "Whoa," he chokes. "I think... I can feel... it's looking for... Veemon..." Fresh tears pool in his eyes as the device continues to work, data code covering its screen until finally it grows calm, the thrumming quieting. Ricardo starts to look disappointed, thinking perhaps it had failed, or Veemon just _isn't_ out there to be found, when the golden beam of light starts to fade away. Ricardo scrubs at his face, certain that he's right after all, when...

"Look," Patamon breathes from where he's resting on Zack's shoulder, all eyes on the end of the beam that is now visible, a soft blue egg on the end of it. "It's a Digiegg. Ricardo, I think... I think it's Veemon." As the beam continues to retract back into the Digivice, just before it disappears entirely, the blue egg is deposited into Ricardo's arms and he hugs it close, amazed at both its presence and its size. "It is," the winged creature insists, smile brilliant as he flies towards Ricardo, bright blue eyes gleaming with happiness. "Rub the egg, Ricardo."

Ricardo stares up at him, unsure why he would want to do that, when he decides to listen anyway, thinking perhaps it would comfort whatever's inside, beginning to lightly rub circles in the hard shell. It only takes a few motions when the entire egg quivers, Ricardo almost dropping it in shock when it begins to crack up the side. He watches in awe, trying not to drown in self-doubt. _What if it's not Veemon? What if it's just some replacement Digimon... or what if it's nothing, and my Digivice is just on the fritz now that I've lost my partner?_ He's starting to cry again when the last of the shell cracks apart, a soft beam of light causing him to gasp as it disappears entirely, leaving a very small, formless baby Digimon behind. The only distinctive feature he has is soft blue fur and a tuft of pointy fur aiming away from his eyes. He can fit easily in the palm of Ricardo's hand, and he smiles down at the little guy, immediately smitten with him. "You... you _are_ Veemon, aren't you?"

"Chibo," he chirps, eyes shining with affection as he looks up at Ricardo.

Despite the Digimon's inability to talk, that's all of the answer Ricardo needs as he squeezes the little Digimon close, breathing into his soft fur. "Gracias," he mutters, overwhelmed by relief, guilt and happiness to have his friend back.

Ophanimon stares at them all and hums. "Are you all ready to get out of here, then? I must strategize with Luke on what to do next... but you all may go home now, if you so wish." The group of Digidestined all eagerly agree with this, clearly looking forward to putting this terribe mission behind them, and she nods, waving her hands before them and causing a Digiport to form not far from where they stand. "We will be in contact," she tells them simply.

"Can't wait," Alberto mutters sarcastically as he peers at Ricardo with the baby version of Veemon held between his hands, hoping that when that time comes, it will be much less traumatizing a mission.


	11. Chapter 11

Zack Ryder sighs, stroking his Digivice. He hadn't been that close when it had happened, floating helplessly in the water and trying to hold onto the small sandy inlet, Dolph's trembling arm wrapped around his shoulders to keep him in place, but time had stopped, all of them watching as Veemon had deleted in Ricardo's arms, and he has no doubt that it'd flashed through all of their minds, the chance that it could happen to their Digimon at any time. One mission goes wrong, they're in the wrong place at the wrong time, they're not fast enough, strong enough, smart enough, and then...

He closes his eyes and shakes his head, trying not to dwell on it. Pushing the small device back into his pocket, he continues wandering the hallway until he sees Ricardo himself sitting a few feet away, a small blue shape peeking out from his hands. Zack's eyes widen and he sneaks over to him, gaping. "Are you serious, bro?" he hisses, not minding when Ricardo jumps, his fingers closing around Chibomon's small form. "We're not supposed to have 'em out in the real world!"

Ricardo swallows and holds the little creature to his chest, wincing. "It's just, he's so small, Zack. Thinking of him alone in there, too little to understand and just wanting me... just bugs me, I guess. I'm being careful, no one's around," he defends himself and his choice. "And it wouldn't take much to convince someone that he's a stuffed animal for my neice or something." He lifts Chibomon and Zack looks closer at the little guy, fighting not to smile. He is cute enough to pass as a toy, his button black eyes peering back up at the broski curiously.

"Alright, bro, I'm not trying to give you grief here, I just don't want any of us to get in trouble or whatever if someone should see him." He sits down next to Ricardo and pats Chibomon on the head, smiling down at the little guy.

"I understand," Ricardo breathes, relieved as Chibomon chatters softly, abruptly leaping up to rest on Zack's shoulder and nuzzling against his sun warmed neck. "I think he likes you," the former ring announcer murmurs, glad to see his partner happy. After everything Veemon had been through, it's all he wants for him, to be safe and smiling.

Zack grins, sharp and bright, before digging around in his bag. "Hey, bro, I have a cookie here, you wanna try it?" When he checks with Ricardo, he shrugs, watching as Zack offers the treat to the small Digimon chittering on his arm. Chibomon freezes for a moment, venturing towards the cookie, staring at it before leaping atop of it and chewing it down in less than ten seconds. "Whoa, I guess that's a-" But his words die away as Chibomon begins to glow, his chittering growing in intensity and volume until finally...

"DemiVeemon!" he declares triumphantly, resting on Zack's shoulder as if nothing had just happened. But, oh, it definitely had- the little creature had grown, now resembling Veemon more with a tail and pointy ears, his midsection and most of his face white. Playful brown eyes peer up at Ricardo and he grins widely. "Can I have more cookies?"

Ricardo and Zack gape at him for a few moments longer before the ring announcer grabs him and pulls him into a hug, promising him as many cookies as he can stand without getting sick. He had been too little as Chibomon to really talk, only able to say his name and a couple of nonsensible things, but now... Zack smirks and shakes his head. "I guess Dolph's cookies really are good for something after all." He leans back to watch the partners talk happily, this somehow easing some of the tension he too had been feeling since everything had happened.

A few days later, upon arriving in the Digital World, Zack stays back, watching with a small smile as the other Digidestined crowd around Ricardo and DemiVeemon, trying to make sense of it all- Veemon being reborn into the Digiegg, just to hatch as Chibomon, and then Digivolving into the little guy before them in a matter of days. "It's kind of amazing, huh?" Alicia mutters, her warm hand resting on his forehead as he stares around at them all patiently, waiting for the moment to pass so the eight of them can return to looking for the latest mission.

"Yes I suppose it would be to you humans," Luke says simply, walking up to them. "But we need all of your attention for this next mission. Monzaemon from the vaccine sector have been disappearing. Entire villages, wiped out overnight. Which can mean only one thing- there is a WaruMonzaemon who is absorbing them to become stronger." The Digidestined all freeze at this, turning to look at him in horror. "This means there may be a Giga WaruMonzaemon out there, preparing to rampage. If he reaches full strength, there may be no easy way to stop him. Thus we need you."

"A Giga WaruMonzaemon?" Patamon whispers, blue eyes wide with fear and horror as he hovers over Zack's shoulder, shaking his head. "We can't possibly deal with him- the ten of us were hopeless against the X Antibody Digimon. If not for Ophanimon, we might've all-"

"Likewise," Luke cuts into his worried babbling, "Tankdramon will be accompanying you. I don't expect you to handle Giga WaruMonzaemon on your own. Hardly, no. All you need to do is weaken him, make him vulnerable for Tankdramon to finish things up. He will make sure you're safe."

Seth steps forward as if to respond but the others all look to Ricardo, as the person who had so recently nearly lost his partner forever. Ricardo is holding DemiVeemon close, eyes shut as he listens to the little thing's reassurances. "Fine," he whispers after a few minutes. "We're in. We trust you, Luke."

This encourages everyone to fall into line, none of them wanting to look weak or uncertain in the face of Ricardo's decision, considering what had happened to him during the past mission. They're quickly in position in the Virus sector near where the WaruMonzaemon is rumored to frequent, Tankdramon hidden as best as he can among some trees and bushes, hoping that the foliage will act as camouflage for him until it's time for his role in this mission.

They're all clustered behind bushes, waiting for a sign- when they hear it. Loud stomping, mutters, what sounds like teeth gnashing against something. When they look up, it's to find a huge, dark creature that almost looks like an evil teddy bear towering over all of their heads, a weapon that resembles a massive pizza slicer in hand. A large apron covers his dark, velvety body, a red cape highlighting his bizarre appearance. Alicia claps a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out, eyes wide, the rest of them frozen in disbelief or shock as he stomps past them, the ground rattling with each step. He's almost out of sight when Seth shakes himself back to awareness. "Go!" he yells, Betamon responding and diving out of the bushes.

"Electric Shock!" he yells, catching Giga WaruMonzaemon in the back, the electricity curving up the soft padding of his back and scattering data here and there. The other Digimon follow suit, careful to keep far away from his swiping claws, their attacks melding together and freeing more of the unstable data from him. It's an easy guess that it had been taken from the Monzaemon when he had absorbed him, and none of the Digimon or their partners are comfortable at the thought of it, especially so soon after what had happened to DemiVeemon.

Giga WaruMonzaemon, growling louder and louder with each blow, lunges forward awkwardly and holds his paws to his chest, releasing what looks like hearts, but they're split down the middle, broken, and just the sight of them leaves everyone nearby scrambling, not wanting to be hit by the things- but Patamon remains, trying to give the others a few more seconds as he shoots off sticky bubbles to keep them at bay. "PATAMON!" Zack yells, realizing what's about to happen. "Move, bro, dammit!" But the little guy is too slow and Zack leaves the relative safety of the bushes and tackles his partner, bringing him to safety- when something impacts with his foot and he immediately feels an overwhelming sadness, as if every bad thing in the world had become a reality to him all at once.

"Zack!" Patamon gasps, gripping his partner. "Look at me!" But there's no reaction, his green eyes dull with depression and what looks like tears. "Oh no."

"What's going on!?" Dolph demands, worried for his friend and unable to see him too easily, the bushes and the other Digidestined in his way to properly catch sight of Zack.

For a second, the look in Zack's eyes clear and he makes it back to his feet, gripping his Digivice. "No," he mumbles. "No. No matter what's gone on lately, I haven't completely lost hope, not in my career, not in myself... and I won't start now. Not here, not when... so many others are depending on me." He stands up straight, trying to work past the innate sadness welling up within him. "Hit me with all of that you have, I'm not laying down to die yet. We will free those Monzaemon's data from you so they can be reborn, we will stop you from hurting anyone else."

Giga WaruMonzaemon laughs wildly for a minute before... bright, blinding light envelopes the immediate area, finally easing into a singular glow that rests against Patamon's now-spinning body, the young Digimon gasping happily before he all but tackles the power. "Patamon Digivolve to..." he chants happily, his body elongating and becoming humanoid in shape, wings bursting from his back, two large and two smaller. Red cloth wraps around his neck and the top of his head, golden armor plates covering his forehead, chest and legs, a staff in one hand and a sword in the other. "Darcmon!"

Zack gapes at his Digimon partner, smiling slightly as he turns to look at him, nodding quickly before flying towards Giga WaruMonzaemon, sword held out in front of him. "Die!" he commands, the two of them falling into a bizarre war between his pizza slicer and Darcmon's sword, but in the end, the conclusion of the battle comes up quickly. "Dancing Sword!" Darcmon is suddenly moving so fast that none of them can track his sword, except for random flashes of sun against its surface, but it's pretty clear it's over as the massive Digimon continues to lose data at a hurried rate.

All of them had forgotten entirely about Tankdramon until a flood of bullets rain down upon the demented Digimon, destroying immediately. The group of Digidestined watch as data pours in two separate directions- pristine white data heading back to the Vaccine zone and the rest of it, a sickly grey color, returning to wherever it had begun in the Virus sector.

To conserve energy, Darcmon returns to the form of Patamon, resting gently on his partner's head with a strained smile. Zack hasn't moved, despite the victory, and Ricardo gingerly approaches him a few moments later, peering own at him. It's clear that tears are pouring down his face but he doesn't want to move to make it known to the rest, Zack sniffing desperately and trying to wipe his eyes.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of by crying," Patamon tells him simply. "GIga WaruMonzaemon's attack sucks the hope out of a person. You should be proud, most wouldn't have been able to fight him off long enough to help me to digivolve. You may feel off for a day or two longer, but it won't be as severe as it is right this minute, I promise you it'll get better soon."

Zack nods and grabs Patamon, hugging him close. "Thanks, bro. I believe you." HIs tears continue to drip down Patamon's fur, and Ricardo sits odwn next to him to pat his arm, smiling sympatheticallly.


	12. Chapter 12

Ignore the pain. Work through it. Pay no mind as everyone looks at you, worried and fretful. Wade Barrett keeps repeating these things to himself, ignoring the worried expression in Lunamon's fearful eyes as she rests on his good arm, staring up at him. He had felt it, less than twenty-four hours earlier. The pop, the tearing pain. He hadn't needed a trainer to tell him it was bad; he could feel it, he had left it when he'd dislocated his elbow years earlier. And yes, it hurts with every step he's taking along the uneven ground of the Digital World, but he powers through it. Knows that anything could happen, that he and Lunamon could be needed. Especially since she's the only Digimon with a water-based ability.

He keeps his face impassively blank as Luke explains their latest mission, something about an outlaw Digimon who had committed some crime or the other, directing them to the latest place he'd been spotted. "Buraimon," he repeats lowly, trudging after the others slowly. Only Heath remains nearby, watching him with a pensive look on his face. He finally looks up and notices Heath staring, frowning at him. "What is it, Slater?"

The ginger hesitates before walking over to him, Lopmon comfortable on top of his head. "Look, man, I get it, alright? You wanna be useful through your injury 'n' everything, but it wasn't that long ago we were almost drowned, and so much crap happens here, if you're only workin' off of one arm, well-"

"Come off it, Slater," he snaps, glaring down at the younger man coolly. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself with two or zero arms."

They walk for awhile longer before Heath swallows. "I know you're strong and self-reliant, and all of this, but c'mon, Wade, we coulda lost Ricardo not that long ago, and now you're hurt and I just-" He quivers slightly under Wade's angered gaze aimed right at him, recoiling slightly, but he stands his ground in the end. "I don't wanna watch you get in trouble, or whatever else. Just take care of yourself, huh?"

Wade doesn't say anything, tired of it all- being kept out of that world title match, Heath's protectiveness, everything just grating at him. He wants things to be normal. Before his elbow, before his shoulder, before everything bad ever happened to derail his career. He storms ahead, barely noticing the sharp rush of wind behind him, when Lunamon cries out. "Oh no!" _This_ does attract his attention and he spins around to find Heath pinned to the ground by a tall Digimon with large wings, the shrewd face with eagle-like features but a human man's body glaring down at him, his sword held warningly to Heath's throat.

Wade walks slowly back towards them, relieved that the others have yet to notice this happening. Heath chokes against the cool steel uncomfortably close to his flesh and gapes at Wade, shaking his head as much as he dares. "Brit," he wheezes, tears filling his eyes as he stares at his former leader. "Stay back-"

"SHUT UP!" the Buraimon yells right at him, the tip of his sword embedding into the ground next to Heath's head as he leans in closer. "You will not capture me as if I am some lowly criminal, as if my being labeled an outlaw in these parts is a bad thing. I will make you all wish you hadn't taken on this mission to rid the DIgital World of me."

As Wade stares across at Heath, he suddenly is overwhelmed with understanding- that the ginger had merely been fearful of what could happen to Wade, his career, his _livelihood_ should something go terribly wrong here, in this world, so far away from conventional medical help. He knows, he understands, because this is how he's feeling now- should that sword inch a little to the left, slice through Heath's arm, or down through his leg, leave him lame or just unable to compete ever again. Take his dream away from him, whatever future possibilities he could ever have. He knows now why Heath was so insistent, and oh God it hurts, somewhere deep inside, worse than his arm or any other physical injury he'd ever had could.

His thoughts are broken, however, when his Digivice begins to thrum, vibrate. As had happened with Zack and Patamon before them, Lunamon begins to spin, landing softly on the ground at his feet, her eyes wide with the uncertainty of it all as she cries out, "Lunamon Digivolve to...!" White, whispy body turning into a furred, cat-like creature with purple tipped ears and tail, large claws protrude from red and yellow gloves covering her paws. "Gatomon!"

Wade gulps and stares at her, wondering how such a small cat could have more strength than even Lunamon, but his answer comes in a hurry. Gatomon races past him and claws at the massive form of Buraimon, leaping backwards as he turns towards her, sword held with a bit more distance from Heath's vulnerable neck. Wade breathes a little easier at this, wanting to inch forward and pull him to safety, but he can't risk it. Not yet, anyway.

Gatomon stands, unwavering in her determination to end this, and slowly breathes out. "Cat's Eye Hypnotism." Her eyes shine, they gleam, spirals seeming to shoot out of them right towards Buraimon, who quickly kneels to his knees before him, the closer proximity strengthing her attack. He lifts his sword, nods as her in what seems like relief, holds it high over his head and stabs it downwards through his own form. He deletes quickly, not even bothering to say something, do something.

Wade looks around for the others, somehow not surprised that they had remained oblivious to everything while continuing their search, leaning down with his good arm to grip Heath's wrist and pull him up. He looks shocked, resting a hand on the side of his neck, where the heaviest part of the sword had rested only a few minutes ago, stares at Wade incomprehensibly. "Tha- thanks," he breathes out.

Wade nods jerkily, resting a hand on his bad arm. "You're welcome." He releases a faint breath, looking him in the eye. "And you're right. I'll be more careful while I recover. And if I'm not, you'll be here to complain and fuss."

Heath grins, removing his hand from his throat, relieved to find it uninjured, and clapping Wade on his good arm. "Damn straight, man." He looks down at Gatomon. "Well, well, look at you."

Wade too looks at his partner, wondering about her new abilities, how different she is from Lunamon, a certain kind of intelligence and grace lurking in her bright blue eyes as she greets Heath and bats playfully at Lopmon as the younger Digimon leaps down to analyze her.


	13. chapter 13

Alicia has a cowboy hat on. Palmon stares at her, thinking that it looks good on her, like it just fits. She smiles and shakes her head, contently following after the Digidestined while they search for a Digimon who had quickly become notorious for deleting any passerby that approached this area. Not much is known because not many has survived traveling this area and those who had made it out with scars as souvenirs, pain a constant companion.

AJ and Renamon are nearby, saying very little to each other, and the others are wandering around in staggered lines. There are only nine of them today, Wade still recovering from his recent surgery, and Alicia finds she doesn't like that they're uneven numbers this go around. Can't stop thinking that it feels unlucky even as she plays with her cowboy hat, tries to pretend that things are normal, that this newest mission will go fine.

They all walk in near silence for what feels like a lifetime, goes by in a blink of an eye, when there's a whisper of wind- a rustle of wings- a loud squeech, and then they see it. A flash of purple, orange feathers, frighteningly large orange talons. A yellow scarf drifting from behind the large bird's neck as it races towards them, squawking and tearing at anything that moves with rapid neck movements, horrible shredding sounds as its beak pulls and snaps on fabric, flesh, nothing safe from its rampage. Alicia can do nothing but stare numbly as Digidestined and their partners fall victim, gripping bleeding wounds, trying to keep data and blood within, as the horrible Digimon turns towards her.

It all happens so fast, she barely has a minute to register it rushing towards her so quickly that she can't keep an eye on it, though the flash of green that breaks up her vision distracts her, saves her life as the beak just misses her neck, tears into Palmon's midsection, leaving the plant creature standing there wavering, the only thing holding her upright being her roots implanted in the ground to keep the bird from approaching Alicia. Disgusted, the bird frees its beak with an ugly snapping sound and rushes away, neck writhing this way and back. Palmon collapses then, her entire body trembling, wavering like flame in a heavy wind.

Alicia finally comes back to herself and runs forward, catching her partners before she can hit the ground. Palmon shifts in her hands, eyes fluttering weakly and Alicia leans over her, tears filling her dark eyes. "No," she cries at the Digimon. "Not you, you're not allowed to do it, Palmon! I'll never forgive you!" She shakes her, too frantic to care that this will probably make the process move faster, leave Palmon in worse shape than she already was. "You're my only friend, please no-" Even the thought of her leaving for only a moment, to return like Veemon had, small and dependent, leaves her gasping for air. She's not good with children, had never been- too unstable, too crazy to be a stabilizing force for the small beings.

"I am not," she whispers. "You're so popular-"

"No I'm not!" Alicia sobs, screams, wishes that the others were in any condition to help, _do_ something, anything to stop this from happening. "They all are scared of me, no one cared for me until you came around. You make me stronger, feel like I could actually be a better person." She buries her face in the weakening form, crying brokenly, unable to think of making it hour by hour, day to day, without Palmon's strength, her intelligence. "Please stay..." It takes a minute for her to notice that something's different, the vibe in the air shifting. She inches her eyes open and looks around, gasping in amazement. Like Patamon and Lunamon before them, Palmon is shining, reflecting the light of Digivolution. Alicia had watched on in awe as Patamon and Lunamon had done the same, become faster, stronger, beautiful creatures capable of amazing things. "Palmon," she murmurs, lips trembling. The important thing is this means that her partner will not be leaving her for any amount of time, the tears pouring down her face keeping her from being able to see the Digimon's changes. She angrily wraps them away, trying to focus on the growing shape of her partner as it stabilizes.

"Palmon digivolve to..." Green, prickly flesh disappearing now, Palmon becomes a creature with tall legs, large talons that look like they could give the opposing Digimon a run for its money, a bony mask over its face and a rough brown body. "Kiwimon," she says smoothly, voice more mature, eyes sharper and more intense now as she looks over at Alicia. "I'm not leaving you, Alicia. Not now, not ever." Her movements are quick, fluid as she moves to meet the other Digimon halfway. "Peckmon, you will pay for making Alicia cry," she says simply, seemingly undisturbed when he laughs at her.

"You know my name," he comments, voice dark and dangerous.

"Who doesn't?" Kiwimon says simply, as if it's of no consequence to her. "You are not nearly as special as you seem to think you are." He snarls at her, his beak clicking warningly, but she doesn't back down, her very stance hinting towards amusement. Tension filling the air, she shifts her position, unsurprised when he takes that brief second of distraction to attack, his talons only just scraping against the vulnerable flesh of her flank as she moves quickly, volleys back with an attack of bombs shaped roughly like a smaller version of her, exploding against Peckmon's body and causing him to roar, taking to the air and lunging forward to kick Kiwimon, sending her skidding back a few feet. She stabilizes herself, however, and lunges forward, responding to this with wild pecks up his leg to his body, tearing holes in his scarf and the purple armor until his body becomes visible.

"Burning spiral!" he suddenly yells, using her momentum against her as he twists around midair and slices his talon along her body, the friction behind the blow sending flames up her brown feathers. She screams as he laughs, smug and expecting that it's his victory when-

"Pummel peck!" she gasps, spitting more bombs towards him at close range, compacting with the flames before flying into him where they do blow with enough force to send Kiwimon flying back from the aftershock, a mess of legs and feathers, into a nearby cliff, all of the Digidestined slowly regrouping forced to do nothing but watch as she hits and sinks down the side of it, collapsing at the foot of it.

"KIWIMON!" Alicia cries, rushing over to her and barely noticing as Peckmon slowly starts to disintegrate behind them, partially hoisted by his own petard. By the time Alicia arrives, Kiwimon is glowing, once more shrinking back into Palmon but not leaving, not deleting, and she sobs, scooping the bruised and battered creature back up, holding her close. Her clothes are stained, her _borrowed_ cowboy hat is askew, but she doesn't mind, nuzzling closer to the Digimon, absorbing that she's still alive. "You're ok, you're ok," she repeats again and again.

"Yes, I am," Palmon whispers. "I'm sorry I scared you, Alicia."

"It's fine, it's ok," she gasps. "Just don't you dare do it again." When Palmon smiles, despite barely being able to keep her eyes open, Alicia finds it to be a victory, hugging her partner closer.


	14. Chapter 14

It had been a weird week. Still reeling from the abrupt departure of his tag partners, his bandmates, Heath Slater had been surprised when Titus O'Neil had come up to him, suggesting that since they had "dropped their inferior tag partners", they partner up themselves. Desperate for TV time, he had accepted and they had moved onto losing against The Usos. He hadn't heard from Titus since, which matters very little to him. He misses Drew, Jinder... he even misses Wade, the Brit still off from WWE and Digital World duties due to still recovering his surgery. Heath sighs and runs his fingers over the solid casing of his Digivice, looking up at Lopmon. _At least I'm not entirely alone,_ he thinks grimly, reaching up to rub Lopmon's forehead, deftly dodging his three horns.

They're skirting along a forest on the outskirt of the Virus sector, eyes peeled for the reason that Luke had received a request for help from this area, when they hear it before they can see it- whole sections of the landscape falling, collapsing with shuddering impacts not that far from them. They all stop short, knowing that the average Digimon couldn't cause such destruction. "No way," Alicia mutters, clinging to Palmon desperately.

Seth is the only one to keep his cool, something that encourages the others to listen to him despite not liking him nine times out of ten. "Go back to the Digiport," he orders the others. "Zack, Alicia, stay if you want, get Palmon and Patamon to Digivolve, see if you can do anything to hold back whatever this is. We'll get reinforcements and be back."

The diva and the broski look at each other before Zack steels his shoulders, watching as Patamon obligingly flies into the bright light flowing from his Digivice, retaking the form of Darcmon. Alicia looks terrified but when Palmon follows suit, she doesn't try to stop her partner, the Digivolution quickly concluding, Kiwimon joining Darcmon to watch out for their opponent.

Heath and the others are following Seth back, trying not to worry too much about the distance to the Digiport, how long they'll be leaving the two champion Digimon behind to deal with whatever it is strong enough to tear down part of the forest in one strike, when Alicia screams- shadows fall over them all and... the ground shakes, everything goes dark.

When Heath comes to to a grey, terrifying world of nothingness, he feels something wet in his hair and hears sobbing nearby. "Lopmon," he chokes out, trying to shift and finding himself unable to.

"Heath!" his partner cries out, the softness of his ears brushing against Heath's face. "You're awake, I thought- I thought..." Fresh sobs overwhelm his voice and Heath's heart hurts to hear it. "We need to get out of here, the others-"

"Where are we?" Heath mumbles, still unable to move, do anything worthwhile as his partner shakes and sobs next to him. "Lopmon?"

"It's MegaGranKuwagamon," he all but wails. "I'm so sorry, Heath, I can't do anything- we're trapped!" It's then that Heath looks up, discovers that the greyness is because, yes... they're underneath a living creature, the small shifts of its shell-like body the only proof that Heath needs. He can't find any words after this, wanting so desperately to move, get out from under him... but unable to.

"What about the others?" he finally chokes out. "Alicia, Zack and- and everyone?"

"I don't know," Lopmon has to tell him. "I can't see anything, he's too... too big, I just... I'm so sorry, Heath."

"Stop apologizin'," the One Man Band tells him, trying to think of a way out, a way to help save this situation, protect everyone. He grits his teeth, clawing his hands in the dirt. _Drew'n'Jinder would know what to do... Wade wouldn't be layin' here in the dirt feelin' sorry for himself... I can't help either of 'em, but this, here, now...I CAN! I gotta help everyone... they're relyin' on me, who knows what kinda shape they're in, I gotta-_

And just like that, his thoughts drift, fade away when bright light pours from his leather pants' pocket, his Digivice vibrating against his hip so hard that it awakens his legs, causing him to gasp in desperate pain as sensations flood his body once more, the force of the power sending the insect creature off of him with a metallic kind of squeech that hurts his ears on top of everything else. He digs in, holds on, scrambling not to pass out, not to lay still, and he sits up with every inch of power his weary body contains, looking around to find the Digidestined scattered around, their Digimon nearby. Patamon and Palmon both had dedigivolved, looking pretty battered and bruised, Zack and Alicia slumped over their forms protectively. He can't think too thoroughly on the fact that Seth and Betamon are gone, hoping that they're not... not-

"LOPMON DIGIVOLVE TO..." The loud cry that his own Digimon issues once more distracts him, Heath's eyes widening as he watches his partner grow, tiny brown body turning into a strong, four legged creature with massive antlers and large blue hooves. Blue fur covers his neck, surrounds said hooves, and sprout out from his tail. "MOOSEMON!" he bellows, his head thrown back proudly as he stomps against the ground.

Looking back down, he finds Heath staring at him and smirks a bit before aiming his antlers towards MegaGranKuwagamon, who Heath can only now see in full since sitting up. He gulps and wants nothing more than to scramble away, though he's sure it'd do absolutely no good. The insect is huge, a mess of black wings, pinchers and claws that Heath can't see the end of. Being a southern boy, he's seen a fair share of scary creatures, but this tops everything he's seen in the real world or even in the Digiworld. Even with his strong, impressive growth spurt, Moosemon barely makes it to the top of one of his pinchers. "Moosemon," he breathes, barely able to find the strength to say, do anything... but the other superstars are still barely moving, though he thinks- hopes- that most are trying to play possum to live to fight another day. _Too bad that wasn't an option for us,_ he thinks, only just now able to feel all the way down to his toes, with adds to his discomfort.

Moosemon rears back on his hind legs then, startling Heath more before- "HORN BLADE!" he yells, landing heavily and twisting his head around with the motion, a strong twister suddenly forming and shooting off towards MegaGranKuwagamon, trying to lift him off of his base and sending him away. It works... to an extent, but the Digimon's wings flap only once, destroying the tornado and sending him crashing once more to the ground. Heath is thrown around like in an earthquake and Moosemon turns towards him. "HEA-" His yell is quieted, drifts into a faded choking sound when MegaGranKuwagamon, angered by his actions, fly forward and close his pinches around the meaty white flesh of his rump, flying up into the air with him.

It all happens so fast, there's a flash of white light and something impacts with MegaGranKuwagamon, causing him to drop Moosemon, who freefalls to the ground below. Heath watches, helplessly clinging to his Digivice, his failure to protect his partner, the other Digidestined, anyone, looping through his mind. Just like that, Moosemon's Digivolution fails and it's now Lopmon rushing towards the ground limply. How Heath finds the strength, the circulation in his legs, he's not sure, but he's up and he's running, eyes wet, throat swallowing convulsively and he dives... skids, scrapes against each rock on the way, but then... he's there- he has the young Digimon, holding him close to his chest and pressing his face against Lopmon's, shaking.

He only looks up when Lopmon stirs, staring above in incredulous awe. "Cherubimon," he whispers as lightning and terrible balls of energy twist around each other, neither massive Digimon able to get the upperhand in the fight until Cherubimon glances down at Lopmon, something about the wonder in the Rookie Digimon's eyes seeming to energize him.

The oddly gentle looking Digimon with pink wings and a pink body, except for a white strip of fur down his face and stomach, sucks in a deep breath, holds his arms out to the heavens. "Heaven's judgement," he calls out, voice almost musical in its softness. Immediately, storm clouds form and Lopmon urges Heath down, the two of them only just able to see as the clouds seem to form directly above MegaGranKuwagamon, bolt after bolt storming down upon him, pounding him into the ground with pure electrical force until his body starts to shatter, data scattering every which way before, with one last cry that drifts, fades into silence, he deletes completely.

Heath collapses to the ground, closing his eyes as he hugs Lopmon close, relieved to feel the small creature shifting in his arms. He glances up as Seth and Betamon arrive, looking up at Cherubimon thankfully. "You- that's where you went," Heath mumbles wearily. The others are slowly regrouping but he's too tired, too sore to move, releasing a faint breath when Lopmon is pulled from his weak grip. "Wha- no..."

Seth ignores him, he and Miz working together to get Heath to his feet. Once standing, he looks up blurrily and stares at Cherubimon upclose, understanding why Lopmon was in such awe of him. He's huge, but that gentle vibe still comes from him, a peaceful smile on his face despite the fight he'd just won."You remind me of 'im," he tells their rescuer, glancing back towards where AJ Lee is holding onto Lopmon. "Somehow..." He's about to pass out, he can feel it, but he still hears Lopmon's response, Cherubimon's confirmation.

"He Digivolved from a different Lopmon."

Heath barely manages a soft "huh" before his head falls forward and everything turns dark yet again. But it's temporary unlike the time before... when he awakens this time, he's sprawled out over Cherubimon's massive shoulder, Lopmon on his chest, and the two of them smile sleepily as their eyes lock. "We're safe," he mumbles.

"Yes, we are," Lopmon whispers. "And we're heading back to the digiport to head to earth now."

"That's good," he breathes, eyes fluttering. "Lopmon?"

"Mm hmm?"

"Moosemon looked really awesome." He barely hears Lopmon's acknowledgement, his thanks, before sinking back under once more, content in the knowledge that his partner is ok, the others are fine, and they'll be home soon.


	15. chapter 15

Wade Barrett is back with them tonight, if only just for this week since WWE's in Florida and the arena's not that far away from where he lives. For this reason, things feel normal once more, the ten of them trooping through grass to reach the target in the Vaccine zone that their Digivices are directing them towards. Between Seth Rollins limping- maybe for show, maybe not- and Wade's arm held protectively at his side in a sling, however, it's clear things aren't entirely perfect.

Heath is walking next to Wade, careful not to jostle him and also making sure he doesn't lose his balance in the uneven turf as Heath tells him all about Lopmon's Digivolution, and how awesome Moosemon was, the rookie Digimon staring at them from atop Heath's head as he and Lunamon exchange stories about how it had felt, what they'd experienced in the bigger forms of their Champion levels. AJ smirks as she walks near them, hearing bits and pieces of the conversation... wondering what it would be like, to witness Renamon becoming stronger. If the tall Digimon would even give her enough of an opportunity to even help her reach that level of strength. The divas champion sighs slightly, flickering her glance towards Renamon briefly, not wanting her to realize in case she'd move away, walk a further distance from AJ.

The walk is horrendous- lengthy on ground that goes from soft and uneven to hard and dry, and Heath has just suggested that Lopmon Digivolve to allow some of them to ride on his back the rest of the way, his dark eyes fluttering over to Wade briefly, then to Seth, before resting on Alicia and, finally, AJ. She stares back at him, daring him to even suggest that she couldn't make the trip on her own, and he quickly looks away, about to urge Lopmon to do it anyway when Renamon speaks up drily. "We're here."

Heath's mouth clanks shut midword and he looks down at his Digivice, realizing she's right. "Oh. Ohh ok." Renamon rolls her eyes and pushes past him, the bright haired man frowning after her until Wade nudges him, urging him to continue on. All of them had learned early on it's not a good idea to lurk around, especially when any distance from the others.

AJ follows after Renamon, curious to see what the latest problem in the Digiworld requiring their assistance is, when something powerful explodes at their feet, sending both of them flying backwards, only just missing Heath and Wade both. "What-!" the girl cries out, her entire body throbbing more than it had been after the series of matches she'd wrestled this week. "What was that?" Troubled brown eyes scope the area and all she can see are the various Digidestined and their partners frozen, looking in the general area of where the blast had apparently come from, Renamon's form sprawled not far away. AJ's only comfort is the rise and fall of her furry chest just visible from this angle.

She grunts and forces herself up onto her elbows, trying to catch a glimpse of who had caused this to happen. All she sees is sleek black glinting in the sun, shadows shifting to reveal more of the creature. Shredded wings a deep shade of red, thick claws for feet and smaller ones for hands, the Digimon steps forward and examines them all, his mouth the only visible part of his face, an armored mask the dull shade of brown blocking the rest from view.

AJ's about to say something, ask, when Renamon speaks up off of a slightly winded grunt. "Cyberdramon," she wheezes, almost making it up to her feet as well. Everyone twists to look at her, shocked.

"You know him?" Heath demands roughly, standing between Wade and the tall creature leering over at them, his teeth poking out between his lips.

"Unfortunately." She stands up, still falling short of coming close to Cyberdramon's height. "He used to be in charge of keeping this area safe. I'm guessing that's not the case any longer... Dammit." Her paw goes right to her midsection and AJ frowns, realizing her partner is injured. Before she can say anything, however, Renamon rushes forward. "DIAMON-"

She's batted away like she's nothing and Cyberdramon roars viciously, the terrible sound leaving the younger Digimon all cringing away, DemiVeemon whimpering in Ricardo's arms as he peeks up at the larger monster. "DESO-"

There's a desperate scramble. "MOVE!" Monodramon, Impmon and Gabumon all yell at once, tackling their partners down and whoever else that's close enough- Impmon drags Dolph, Zack and Patamon down, while Gabumon snags Ricardo, pressing him against the ground not far away from where he's pushed Alberto to, DemiVeemon's strained cries louder than before.

"-LATION CLAW!" Just barely in the nick of time, Monodramon snags Seth, Alicia and their Digimon, forcing them down to safety with Mike as well, when something hot and dangerous flies over their heads, causing Alicia to scream. When they all look up, there's a huge hole in the ground, data streaming up from it in a sickening fashion. None of them want to imagine actually getting hit with it. Cyberdramon loses interest in them after missing, turning his dark attention back towards those still standing- AJ, Wade and Heath.

The three of them and their Digimon gape helplessly as he snarls, claws clicking together as he prepares for yet another attack. It happens so suddenly that none of them could prepare for it, Heath barely having the chance to clasp his Digivice, preparing to attempt Lopmon's Digivolution sequence, when they look up to find that Cyberdramon is rushing towards them.

"CYBER NAIL!" he roars, his terrible claws glinting in the sun... but Wade, acting with the foresight and terrible instincts that he'd gathered from years of bareknuckle brawls in England, tangles the fingers of his good hand in the shredded holes of Heath's shirt and tugs, forcing the younger man down with all of the strength he has remaining after his surgery only a few weeks ago.

It's just enough, the horrible Digimon flying over their heads and embedding his claw in the loam. This time, when he gets up, he yet again avoids the target he'd just failed on, instead focusing on AJ and Renamon. Now more steady, the fox-like creature steps forward to challenge him, ignoring AJ's faint gasp as she grips her Digivice. "No-"

"DIAMOND STORM!" Renamon yells once more, trying to attack him with her strongest possible attack... but the shards merely ping off of his armor like pea-sized hail on a sidewalk. _This_ gives Renamon pause as she backs away from him. It all seems to be happening in slow motion as AJ watches, her eyes wide with terror.

"DESOLATION CLAW!" The attack is as terrible as it was the first time, if not worse, and AJ swallows, unable to watch her partner suffer the same fate as Veemon... or any other Digimon they'd watch delete. One minute she's behind Renamon, then she blinks, and she's standing in front of the Digimon, her arms held out protectively. She's thin and she's short but she hopes it's enough, to keep Renamon from deleting as well.

"What are you doing?!" Renamon screams at her, the most she's ever said to her at one time, and AJ almost smiles through the tears that the intensity of the attack is bringing to her eyes as it nears. "AJ-!" And then everything stops. A blinding white light that overwhelms everything, including Cyberdramon's attack... neutralizes it as if it had never existed... comes from AJ's hand, and she looks down to realize that the Digivice has come to life.

"What-" she's just mumbled when she turns to discover- the light is focusing on her partner, Renamon starting to spin in a tight circle.

"Renamon Digivolve to..." Her body shifts, elongates, gleams with light not offered by the Digivolution process. Flames surround her, flick from the... one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight... nine! Nine tails that she now has. Instead of standing on two legs, she eases forward on four and waits as the Digivolution concludes. Her body is still a soft cream color, white fur spiking out around her neck, which has a red and white fabric curling around it, curious golden shapes on either end. The tao symbols on her leg and forehead, between her crystal blue eyes, fascinate AJ. "Kyubimon," she declares, her voice deeper and more in control now as she lands, settles into her new form.

AJ thinks she hasn't seen anything more beautiful in all of her life. "Kyubimon," she tries, the syllables tripping off of her tongue as the four-legged creature leaps over her, immediately heading for Cyberdramon.

"Dragon Wheel!" she yells, the flames overwhelming her body but not harming her as she collides into Cyberdramon. He roars in pain and tries to slash her but she's too quick, her flames dancing along his body and melting the armor, leaving him screaming in pain as his data is compromised, unable to stand up under the heat, her onslaught. He tries again, and again, and again to attack, even turning his attention to the others, but she's always right there, alternating the intensity of her flames to ensure that he's not going anywhere, and sure enough a deep crack fissured through his armor all the way to his body, leaving his data scattering all over.

His chin tilts towards Kyubimon once more, his lips parted in silent screams of pain, and finally he shatters, his data streaming every which way as the Digidestined all watch, breathless and shaken. There's still signs all over of his attack, the ground dotted with sections completely missing, but they're all alive and regrouping.

Before AJ can get a good look at her partner in this new form when not in the middle of a battle, however, Kyubimon glows and quickly becomes the more agile form of Renamon once more. She marches towards AJ, pausing only for a minute by her. "Never... ever... do that again."

AJ stares up at her for a moment, somehow not surprised. "Yes, ma'am," she says in a falsely chipper voice. Even so, as they walk around to help the other Digidestined regroup, find their footing, get ready to return to Luke, she can't help but feel that something's changed between her and Renamon, even if she's not sure _what_ , or how... She smirks a little.


	16. chapter 16

Del Rio is far from thrilled. He had lost to Roman Reigns while still feeling aggravated from losing his chance at the Intercontinental title, and now he's stuck wandering around a dust-filled strip of land in the Digiworld, trying to ignore the others as they mumble and whisper to each other, keeping an eye out for yet another worthless Digimon rampaging here and there. He's tiring of this, tiring of losing... tiring of watching the other Digimon growing stronger while Gabumon remains as he is, Alberto's lips twisting into an ugly sneer as he catches his partner's eye, turning away sharply. Gabumon, to his credit, takes it in stride, already used to the man's temper.

"Ay, I am sick of this," Alberto grumbles, shielding his eyes from the bright sun overhead. He's already a fair distance behind the others, not that they'd yet noticed, so he stops where he stands, looking down for a moment before sitting down stubbornly right there, looking to be in no hurry to move. Gabumon joins him, however reluctantly, and the two of them sit side by side, watching the rest of the group grow smaller and smaller. Not a word is spoken until Del Rio crosses his arms over his chest, peering disinterestedly up into the depths of the blue sky overhead. "That Digimon we're supposed to look for," he says slowly. "It was a bird?"

"Yeah, Diatrymon." Gabumon hesitantly looks up, already suspecting when he does so. Sure enough, there's a speck in the sky divebombing towards them, growing larger at a frightening speed. "DOWN!" Alberto's partner exclaims, diving on him and drawing him to the ground, Alberto's protests falling on deaf ears as Gabumon slashes upwards with his claws, purple nails scraping against his rigid stomach. The creature squeeches and divebombs again, snagging Gabumon by the back of his fur and dragging him upwards, flying higher and higher, his wings whipping around in a blur of orange and green.

Del Rio hesitantly gets to his feet, looking up, then over. Gabumon is all but out of his sight, and the other wrestlers are so far away, he doubts he could even get their attention no matter how loud he may yell. His fingers clench into a fist as he realizes this is his fault- Gabumon would be on the ground, safe, if Alberto hadn't needed a break from the others' babbling and had sat down here like a petulant child. He grits his teeth and shakes his head, eyes narrowing as he watches his partner's form growing smaller and smaller. "Ay, no. Gabumon..." Fishing his Digivice out of his pocket, he shakes it. "Work, maldita sea! You did for the other peasants, you will as well for me, Alberto Del Rio! The Mexican aristocrat!" But it remains lifeless in his hands and he looks up, swallowing down nauseated fear as Gabumon is now nothing more than a speck in the sky. "Ay, por favor, work!" He again shakes the device and growls when it once more fails to respond.

There's nothing he can do, the others are gone, Gabumon is who knows where by now, if still alive, and... He cranes his neck desperately once more, trying to spot _something_ , anything, some way to save his partner. The only creature who hadn't yet been scared off by his attitude, his anger, anything. Even Ricardo had eventually left, not that he blames the ring announcer in hindsight, but still... "Failure, that is all I am anymore," he grunts, eyes locked on the sky. "In matches... as a partner... Gabumon, lo siento... You deserved a better partner-" And just like that, it happens- a bright light shoots out of his Digivice, startling him so much that he almost drops the vibrating item. Realizing what's finally going on, he clings to it, watching where the beam of energy disappears into the clouds. Roars and Gabumon's voice echoes down, hinting towards his Digivolving, and Alberto wonders what his partner will look like, hoping that it's something impressive, before there's an ugly scream overhead and he ducks once more just in case as a shadow streaks not far from where he's standing, crashing into the ground with a terrible, grinding sound.

When he finally looks up, he gets a good look at Diatrymon, the knife like claws poking out of his feet, the vicious feathers that look more like spikes digging into the ground, and beady eyes struggling to focus on him as the avian fights to sit up, regain traction on the tore up ground. He doesn't get the opportunity, however, as there's a wide, four legged blue and white streak just inches away from where Alberto's standing that slams directly into Diatrymon, causing the Digimon to arch up and yell in agony once more, Alberto blinking in surprise. The large animal lands on the ground gracefully, ridding the man of his breath. "Gabumon?"

"Garurumon," he corrects in little more than a wolf-like growl, inclining his head towards Alberto. "I Digivolved, thanks to you." Alberto nods blankly, examining the durable body of his partner, strong and something that no one in their right minds would be too eager to mess with. Blue stripes break up what would otherwise be white fur with light blue bleeding in here and there, and all in all he looks pretty ferocious, teeth poking out from his snarling lips.

Diatrymon, however, isn't ready to give it up yet, forcing himself up to face his opponent. "Destruction roar!" he screams, earshattering sound waves slicing through the ground to head towards them, Garurumon immediately leaping forward and landing between Alberto and the attack.

"Howling blaster!" Blue flames pour from his wide jaws, overwhelming the squeeching attack and engulfing it, becoming one with it before slamming into Diatrymon, horrible screams of pain issuing from him before he shatters into little pieces of data. Garurumon looks pleased, as relieved as Alberto's feeling, and he slowly settles down on his haunches, staring over at Alberto. "Get on, we'll catch up with the others in no time now."

Alberto nods, gingerly doing as his partner had suggested, though he's not sure where to hold onto once he's up. Although once Garurumon leaps forward, he instinctively wraps his arms around the large Digimon's neck, holding on with everything in him as he's jostled nearly off of the beast's back. Garurumon doesn't complain once as they bound through the sand towards the others, Alberto finally feeling like he can breathe normally once more. _Perhaps not so much of a failure after all..._


	17. chapter 17

The group of Digidestined wait patiently, listening as Luke finishes discussing the latest mission that they are to leave on soon. Their numbers seem to be diminishing weekly, between injuries and releases. So when Luke concludes speaking and looks at them expectantly, as if wondering why they haven't left yet, it's of course Dolph that speaks up first. "So now that there's only eight of us... what's going to happen? With Veemon, and whatever else?"

Luke stares at him long and hard. "Veemon will remain with Ricardo Rodriguez on earth. It is rare but at times trouble in the Digiworld bleeds over, and we need a defense there as well. He may not be traveling with you all anymore, and so cannot help with the actual missions because he can't return to this world, but he can help where he's at if needed."

"I see." It makes sense, the longer he thinks about it, and he's glad. He can't imagine being separated from Impmon, even though they're still getting to know each other, and the thought of Veemon suddenly being separated from Ricardo, after everything he'd been through, only recently regaining his larger form, had left him uncomfortable and a bit sad. He idly reaches down and scratches Impmon's head, ignoring the soft murmurs from the others as they prepare to leave to the Data zone. It seems like they've only been walking for a few minutes when they hear it- explosions and screams, all of their eyes locking on a nearby plume of smoke coming up from a cluster of homes.

The women exchange uncomfortable glances but they all traipse that way, determined to help whatever innocent Digimon may be lost in the flames and debris, holding their breath when they realize just how thick the smoke really is. There are only two homes that are visibly crumbling in on themselves following the attacks, so the competitors split up, Dolph hesitating outside of the house that was burning the worst as he looks up, trying to figure out a strange whirring sound that's been driving him nuts since they'd arrived. He's only just caught a flash of brown when it happens, the noise growing louder when- "EVERYONE MOVE!" he yells, but it's too late, he drops down to the ground and covers Impmon as another explosion rocks through them, another house catching flame and this time, when he looks up, he realizes what the brown thing he'd seen was- a strange, blimp shape inching through the sky, robotic arms stretching out as its fingers flick shut randomly. Various missile launchers and shooters cover its body and Dolph closes his eyes, expecting another blast, when Impmon wiggles free from him and stares up at the Digimon, a cold, examining look about him.

"Blimpmon," he says coolly, walking past Dolph. "I should've known." When the creature turns its gaze towards him, Ziggler surprised and disconcerted to find that it does indeed have beedy little eyes locked on his partner, Impmon lazily lights flame on the end of his claw and smirks up at Blimpmon. "I bet you'd put on quite the light show if I hit you in just the right place, hm? More than these houses combined?"

Blimpmon responds by releasing another strike, Impmon's eyes widening as his big mouth gets him in trouble all over again. "Impmon!" Dolph yells, worry for his partner mingling with the worry he has for the others who have yet to leave the houses behind him. The missile is barely inches away, Impmon able to feel it rustling against his fur, when Dolph's Digivice lights up and he feels the comforting power of Digivolution sweep through him, overwhelming everything else, detonating the missile as its power is overwhelmed by the bright light from the Digivice.

"Impmon Digivolve to..." His small purple body grows, takes on a more humanoid shape, his entire body now covered in clothes- from a pointy hat with a wide brim to a purple cloak that only leaves his eyes and nose uncovered, red and yellow fabric spanning the rest of his body with yawning opened zippers against his legs. Brown boots and gloves conclude the ensemble, his fingers wrapped tightly around a staff topped by what looks like a sun emblem. "Wizardmon!"

Dolph blinks, finding it easier to breathe as his partner's bright green eyes flash, energy building within the weapon he's clutching. "Wizardmon," he repeats, in awe of his Digimon's clearly powerful presence. "Wow."

"Zepplin Explosion!" Blimpmon tries again, actually verbalizing his attack for once, perhaps showing that he too is unnerved by the abrupt Digivolution, but Wizardmon beats him to the punch.

"Thunder Cloud!" It's powerful, and it's quick, blue lightning forming in his fist before he throws it at the opposing Digimon, the two attacks colliding in a ridiculous display that has all of them shrouding their eyes- a hesitation of sound before the loud explosion finally happens, a tidal wave of energy going in all directions, overwhelming Blimpmon, Wizardmon, Dolph, everything in the surrounding area. When Dolph looks up, Blimpmon is gone, nothing more than data streaming through the sky, and he chokes, overly worried for his Digimon partner now. But- "Dolph..." It's Wizardmon, and he's weak, but there, whole.

Dolph scrambles over to him and helps him sit up, examining the wreckage. The second explosion had caused more flames to flare up from the already rattled houses and he worries anew for the others. "Wizardmon, we gotta help the others, can you-" But the Digimon shakes his head, lifting his eyes to stare at the destruction. He lifts his hand wearily and aims it towards the buildings, Dolph holding his breath as a soft wind begins to gust, somehow absorbing the flames and drawing them away from the homes, leaving them smoldering but not truly on fire anymore. As soon as things seem calm, safe again, Wizardmon passes out in Dolph's arms, reverting to Impmon. Dolph gapes at him before settling him down on the ground and running to help the others. To his relief, some of them are already staggering out, dragging their fellows out, and he hooks Zack's arm over his shoulder, leading him out of the nearest building. "Is anyone else trapped in there?"

Thankfully Zack shakes his head. "I don't think so, bro." Patamon rests, limp, against his head as Dolph settles them down on the ground. "You defeated him," he mumbles, watching as Dolph glances around, trying for a headcount. He nods absently, only managing to pay attention to Zack when he finds all eight of them are safe outside, though some look rough, in need of a good shower and nap. "Congrats on the Digivolution, bro."

Dolph can't help but smile as he looks down at Zack. "Thanks, kid." Even allows a fist bump from him before it's time to scoop Impmon up and prepare to return to the Vaccine zone and then home.


	18. Chapter 18

"First Ricardo, now Del Rio," Miz muses as he walks side by side with Monodramon, adjusting his sunglasses smugly. "If more of us get delegated to being earth-bound Digidestined, we may not have enough to offer proper defense to the Digiworld..."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Monodramon says quietly. "If the need becomes evident, Luke will handle it. There are always exigencies, Mike. Luke is a smart man, and has been doing this kind of thing for a very long time. If anyone knows what's needed and when, it'll be him."

Mike says nothing in response to this, knowing that Monodramon more likely than not is correct. Still, to lose two members of the team in a week... He shakes his head, lips thinning as they continue to wander, unable to stand still for a moment longer while Luke explained the latest situation. Something that was happening in this sector, which means a lesser travel distance for them, which is good, considering the kind of week most of them has had. He feels no special bond with the others, but their weaknesses and injuries make any potential fight they might themselves in even riskier, should they be taken off of their game.

He sighs and pinches his nose, about to turn back around and return to listen to whatever Luke has to say, when he hears a maddening little giggle. Freezing short he looks around, his suspicions confirmed by Monodramon standing at ready, his claws held defensively outwards. "What was that?" he mumbles, unsurprised when Monodramon hushes him sharply. They stand, side by side, trying to spot whoever had made that noise, when they hear something coming towards them... equally as hard to spot, until...

"MIKE!" Monodramon exclaims. "Move!" Mike doesn't get the chance, however, before his Digimon partner has tackled him, sending him straight to the ground. Mike grunts and spits out grass and dirt, about to bitch about it, when there's a loud explosion behind them, his eyes widening.

"What the hell was that?" he breathes out, content not to move as he and Monodramon glance over their shoulders, still struggling to spot the creature attacking them.

"It looked like Opossumon," the rookie Digimon whispers. "It has balloons that explode like bombs... Mike..."

"Add that to the list of things to avoid- balloons," he mumbles, casting a quick glance around. "Which way do you think they came from?"

Monodramon's just opened his mouth to respond when there's another giggle, another wave of balloons, another set of explosions as the Digimon struggles to keep his partner safe against this invisible opponent. "Opossumon!" he calls out, hissing when this too doesn't work. "Dammit, where are you, I know you can hear me-" he's just yelled out when there's a sharp flash of color- an explosion, and Monodramon is sent flying, hitting the ground within seconds, Mike gaping after him in horror.

"Monodramon!" He's quickly quieted, however, when he looks up to find an innocent creature with multicolored balloons held in one gloved paw, wide green eyes locked on Mike's face. All innocence, however, is lost when the faces on the balloons begin to warp and twist into evil, terrible expressions that Miz is sure he will have nightmares about for a very logn time to come. That is, if he survives long enough to... He hadn't had many opportunities to honestly feel scared for himself but here, alone, Monodramon unmoving feet away, gives him the chance. He swallows and tries to stagger away, but a balloon lazily floats in front of him and abruptly explodes, Mike's eyes widening as that blast sends him back onto his elbows, teeth tensing at the unexpected jarring sensation rocking through his body. "Dammit," he wheezes, turning to look at Monodramon. But Opossumon is there once more, demanding his attention, and he examines the creature breathlessly. "Don't hurt us."

For some reason, this seems to register- the short Digimon presses a glove to his mouth and licks absently at the rubber coating his fingertips, humming thoughtfully, the balloons surrounding him seeming to be moving in time with his tune. It's a long shot, Mike knows, but for whatever reason, he wants to believe that Opossumon ultimately will not cause them further harm, that everything will end up alright- but then Opossumon turns his attention once more to the downed, vulnerable Monodramon and Mike's desperation for a simple, quiet resolution to all of this fades away as quickly as it'd come. He's struggling to his feet, fighting to figure out what to do to the Digimon when Opossumon releases his balloons, the weapons floating towards his rookie Digimon partner at a horrifying speed. "No- Monodramon!"

To his credit, Monodramon does stir but not enough to avoid or defend himself. Mike swallows painfully and struggles upright, scrambling towards the two Digimon when there's a sharp shift in the wind, sending Opossumon's balloons off course. Mike can do nothing but watch as almost half of the balloons explode at their feet, Mike sent flying back much further and hitting his head on the way down. He lays there, half in a doze, when he sees a tall, white beam of light bursting through his pants' pocket, heading towards where Monodramon is laying. He only just maintains consciousness until a deep, ground-shaking roar breaks through everything else, his lips twitching upwards. "Give 'em hell," he breathes, eyes shutting. He can hear the struggle, roars, attacks being called, but he hasn't the energy to actually be involved, his body one large ache right now.

The next thing he's aware of, wide arms are wrapping around him, lifting him from the ground. He finally pieces together the strength to look up, finding a tall, slim Digimon is carrying him easily back towards where Luke had been talking to their fellow Digidestined. "Opossumon," he slurs, fingers twitching against the warm purple fur under his fingers.

"It's handled," the Digimon tells him lowly. "I am Strikedramon, by the way. Not sure you caught that after the attack... thank you for helping me to reach my Digivolution."

Mike blinks blurrily at him and reaches up, surprised to find his glasses resting on his chest, appearing to be in good condition despite everything. "No problem, Strikedramon. I'm glad you're ok." Strikedramon inclines his head and Mike chuckles, distracting the Digimon from their forward path. "Everyone's going to be disappointed they didn't get to witness you achieving your new form..." Strikedramon looks doubtful but resists commenting, content to carry Mike the rest of the way back to the others.


	19. chapter 19

Seth stares ahead grimly as he walks ahead of the others, his briefcase thudding against his leg every other step. He imagines that none of the others would agree with him, but he can't help considering himself the defacto leader of the group, and it rankles at him. In only the last few weeks, they'd lost three of the group, two to firings and one to injury. _Earth bound Digidestined,_ he sneers to himself, remembering how Luke had tried to explain it when Ricardo had been taken out of the group.

Obviously he had no control over the situation, but even so, it irks him. Especially when, even though he's in a completely different world, he still feels the need to look over his shoulder just in case Ambrose should appear out of nowhere and attack, however illogical that would be. He sighs and turns back to glance at the others, who are all walking along either lost in thought or talking lowly to their Digimon partners. AJ and Miz have their titles, but the rest of them are empty handed, and for a wild moment, Seth is envious of them, although he'd do nothing that would risk his briefcase.

He's replaying what Luke had said involving this mission- how a Digimon had struggled all the way from the virus zone in an attempt to get away, just to delete at Luke's feet, only just managing a warning about what's going on before fading away into strips of data. The warning, that there's a large Digimon rampaging in the virus zone, seems commonplace now, almost normal. After all, the only reason they come to the Digiworld is to assist in situations like this.

He's distracted momentarily by the sun gleaming against a nearby body of water, unsurprised to find that Betamon is staring in that direction too... when everything grows still. Too still. He stops short and looks up, uncertain what's going on but not liking the sudden vibe he's getting. "What-"

"Shh," Betamon hisses lowly, the two of them turning slowly to look and see if the others have noticed something. Based on the looks on their faces, they have, and the seven of them group together, glancing this way and that, their Digimon prepared to defend them against whatever may be coming. None of them speak, taking Betamon's warning to heart, so they all hear when there's a faint thud behind them, on the other side of the water.

Seth swallows and turns, Betamon following suit, and so they're the first ones to get a look at what's looming. It's a massive Digimon, larger than anything they've ever seen before, even from this distance. Its body looks like a meteor, beady eyes staring at them from a strange viking like armored helmet. Large arms and legs formed out of intense flames are the only other obvious features in his body, and all in all he makes for a terrifying presence.

"Whoa," Miz mutters from near Seth. The former member of the Shield finds that he can't help agreeing with him. _Whoa_ describes the angry looking Digimon to a T. They're all still standing there, frozen, when the creature moves. Hops clean over the ocean and lands before them, knocking them all over.

Seth gasps, looking up at him as the others try to scramble away, making it impossible for any of them to move away as they all stumble against each other and block the path. "Damn," he breathes out, overwhelmed by the heat coming from the evil creature.

"Fused Ancient Volcamon." After stating his name in an awed whisper, Betamon panics when the massive Digimon continues leering at them silently, danger in his gaze. "Electric shock!" But the attack only grazes the Digimon, making him even angrier.

Before Seth can act, Betamon is snagged in those massively large arms of flame and dragged up to his level, the two of them staring at each other. He's just scrambled to a crouching position when, with a roar, Fused Ancient Volcamon sends Betamon backwards into the water, the small rookie Digimon immediately sinking beneath the drink, unconscious. All the briefcase holder can do is gape as his partner disappears and the terrible Digimon now turns his attention to him and the others, an evil sneer on his face. "Betamon," Seth breathes, a numb kind of fear coursing through him. "No..." But his worry for his partner drifts into the further recesses of his mind as the Digimon that Betamon had labeled as _Fused Ancient Volcamon_ stares down at him, clearly unimpressed with what he sees. But Seth doesn't waver, no matter how unsettled he is, the others trying to find their bearings enough to get away. If Fuse Ancient Volcamon cares, however, he doesn't show it, his sneer growing even uglier as he looks down at the young Digimon and their vulnerable, human partners.

Seth's failure reinforcing itself in his mind as he replays what just happened to Betamon, he finds his feet and holds his arms out, his skin-tight clothes clinging to him with each movement. He really doesn't like any of the wrestlers behind him, but his internal sense of leadership- something that had made his once upon a time leave The Shield for the betterment of Dean and Roman's relationship- is fueling his actions now.

Fused Ancient Volcamon's incredulous stare and mocking laughter does little to dissuade him as he stares up at him. "What do you think you're going to do, little man?" he rumbles.

"I think I'm going to stop you," he declares, his eyes narrowing as stale breath gusts against him, almost enough on its own to send him back to his knees.

Fused Ancient Volcamon really laughs at this one, jagged ugly teeth revealed with each shift of his lips, but Seth still holds his ground, unperturbed... until a bright light comes from his pocket, even visible despite the brilliant sunshine. Seth gapes as it travels over the humored Digimon and slices through the water until it finally makes contact with something, the force of it sending water arcing through the sky. He thinks it has to be Betamon, a hopeful feeling coursing through his veins, but the creature that breaks the surface isn't what he's expecting, a large, sleak sea creature with a red fin. A golden mask covers half of its face with only holes for intense, blue eyes, and as it turns to stare at the menacing Digimon, it too doesn't waver once. "Ice Blast!"

Somehow it works. The subzero temperatures that are so intense that Seth starts to shiver despite his closeness to the flame Digimon and it's clear to tell when it's working because Fused Ancient Volcamon's body starts to get coated in ice chards, his control over himself failing. His struggles to free himself from Betamon's Digivolution's attack fails and he shifts into two separate Digimon, one of which is deleted outright by the ice. The other, however, a smaller version of Fused Ancient Volcamon remains and glares at them all before turning and bounding away, escaping as quickly as he'd appeared.

Seth swallows and walks towards the water, looking up at the sea snake who is peering down at him. "Betamon?"

"Seadramon," he offers with a low grunt, leaning in closer before nuzzling into Seth, his cool, slimy body feeling good against the wrestler's sweaty skin as he wraps his arms around his gold mask.

"I'm glad you're ok," he breathes. "When you fell underwater..."

Seadramon smirks at him and for a moment, Betamon's loyalty is clear in his expression. "It's not that easy to get rid of me, Seth. I promise."

Seth nods. "I'm glad." And he really is- friends are rare, especially for him since he had turned his back on the brothers he had once cared for, so he's far from ready to give Betamon up.


	20. Chapter 20

After a long few days, in which he'd unfortunately had the Intercontinental championship taken from him, Miz finds himself back in the Digital World. Not for a mission, no, thankfully. Luke had wanted them all present to explain to them more thoroughly Digivolutions, the different level of powers each Digimon can acquire, and other miscelaneous things. Mike had tried to listen, but his loss was still weighing on him so not much of it had registered. He's sure Monodramon will tell him if he misses anything important. He's still sitting there, staring blankly ahead, when a streak of red catches his attention, his eyes narrowing as he looks towards the grass, searching out what he'd spotted. "Monodramon," he hisses. "Did you see something?"

The rookie Digimion shrugs, shaking his head. "What'd it look like?"

"Something red," Miz mumbles, getting to his feet and sneaking off towards it, relieved to find that Alicia is talking in circles around Luke, distracting him enough for Mike to get out of sight. "I think it was a Digimon, but I'm not sure." He's relieved that Monodramon follows him, also curious about what his partner had spotted. They don't poke around too far into the grass, not wanting to get rushed by another Digimon that they can't handle on their own, but before long, Monodramon stops short, Miz almost tripping over him. "What is it?"

"I think I see it," the dragon Digimon mumbles, beelining straight for a streak of red that Miz now notices. Whatever it is barely reacts when Monodramon snags it, his claws digging into the creature's sides... and when Mike gets a good look at it, he realizes it's basically a computer monitor with a face on the glass atop a beast-like body, claws protuding from his feet and a belt covering his midsection.

"What the hell is that?"

"Shonitamon," Monodramon says simply, as if it's common knowledge. He grins wryly when he spots the look on Mike's face. "He's a Digimon who is... hm, let's say his kind is quite curious. They tend to sneak into other zones and get information that most can't."

"Ok," Mike says. "So why is he here? Is he spying on us?"

"I don't think so," Monodramon shakes his head, examining Shonitamon carefully. "Do you have something for us? Is there something we should know?"

Shonitamon stares up at him, the lines forming his lips twisting into a frown. There's a squeeching sound that resembles a 56K modem and Miz winces, fighting not to cover his ears as the noise continues, Monodramon and him turning to look over at the group of Digidestined still talking with Luke, wondering how long before they notice this horrible noise too. His facial features abruptly disappear and are replaced by an actual screen, white glow attracting Mike's attention all over again. There are images flashing on the screen, some that Mike can't quite register but between he and Monodramon, they get the main idea from it. The two exchange glances before turning back to the screen, trying to watch the rest of the information airing jerkily on the screen.

A familiar face flashes on the screen, followed by what could only be earth, the architecture of the buildings visible a dead giveaway. In fact, considering what's in the background, Mike knows exactly where it's focused. "Chicago," he mutters, his eyebrows furrowing as he glares at the screen, a strange flood of emotions overwhelming him. "How do we know this is legit?"

"Trust me, it is," Monodramon says. "By what I know of Shonitamon, they are very proud of their ability to collect information and share it with people they consider allies. Apparently this one thinks of the Digidestined as allies. We shouldn't second guess it, but we should definitely tell the others what we've just learned."

"I'm not even sure what we've found out," he mutters. "Just that it involves _him..._ and Chicago..." He licks his lips, runs his fingers through his hair, and abruptly misses fumbling with his sunglasses. He'd left them behind on earth, not wanting to risk them getting broken in the portal, but still. "But I know you're right. Do we... need to do anything?"

He glances uncertaintly towards Shonitamon and Monodramon approaches the Digimon. "Thank you for this information, Shonitamon. We have to go share this information with our friends right now, but if you need anything, please let us know."

For a moment, Shonitamon stares up at him and Mike wonders if he understands even Monodramon, but eventually he nods jerkily, the motion seeming to rock him off-balance for a moment before he regains his equilibrium, abruptly turning and leaving as quickly as he'd arrived.

"Well, that happened," Miz mumbles, walking side by side with Monodramon as they head back to Luke's impromptu meeting. Their leaving hadn't attracted any attention, but their return definitely does, Luke looking displeased at their skipping most of his information. But before the lecture can begin, Mike raises his eyebrows and holds a hand up. "We have news. We met a Shonitamon with some... interesting... information."

Luke's teeth click as he shuts his mouth, clearly intrigued by the name of the Digimon alone. "What did he share?"

"I didn't understand a lot of it," Mike says slowly. "But the images he showed us... they were clearly set in Chicago..." His gaze flickers from wrestler to wrestler. "One was of..." He licks his lips, shakes his head. "Of CM Punk." If he had doubted the veracity of the images before, he doesn't anymore as soon as he sees the look on Luke's face, how pale he becomes. He squares his shoulders and stares at the man, eyes flashing in warning, demanding the truth from him. "What is it? What does any of this have to do with CM Punk?"

Luke looks deflated, somehow, no longer the man who has all of the answers. His reason for bringing them here had suddenly evolved itself, became something more... something worse. "I never planned on telling you about any of this, but I suppose this information has taken that option from me." He motions back to the ground and stares at them all as they take their seats once more, subdued. His eyes rest momentarily on Seth Rollins as he smooths out his white tunic, taking a deep breath. "When our need for a new set of Digidestined started to become clear, I carefully selected ten of you to take care of our world, defending it to the best of your ability. But things changed and when the time came, there was only nine of you. One of your numbers had already left before we could even get you to this world and introduce you to your partner Digimon."

None of them need it spelled out for them, Mike can tell by glancing around at the other Digidestined. They had pieced it together before the end of the second sentence, but even so, not a one of them look away from Luke, waiting for him to confirm their suspicions.

"CM Punk was to be the leader of the Digidestined," Luke explains quietly. "I selected a replacement and we moved on... but it appears that something is going on..." He stares at them all thoughtfully. "I understand your schedules are already busy, but you're needed in Chicago to figure out what this is. I will make the needed alterations to your Digivices so you can access Digiports on earth, to uphold your responsibilities there, but this must take first priority."

The group of them exchange glances before slowly getting up and handing their Digivices over to him. It's a silent and somber group that moves to sit and wait to return to earth, to figure out what's going on in Chicago, and why it possibly involves CM Punk. Miz doesn't like any of this, and he senses, by the general vibe in the air, that the others don't either, all of them lost in thought while they ponder what they've just learned.


	21. chapter 21

After losing to Los Matadores and arguing with Titus O'Neil for the better part of the night, Heath Slater wakes up to find his Digivice thrumming in his hand and the round sound of someone knocking at the hotel door. He groans and pries his eyes open, disgusted to find that it's already morning, the sun shining in his face. He sighs and rolls out of bed, landing on the floor on all fours. He makes it to his feet after a minute and grips the doorknob, pulling it open and glaring out into the hallway, almost expecting Titus there for round two... or twenty, whatever number it'd be by now, but he falls quiet as soon as he realizes that it's the other Digidestined, Seth staring at him. "We gotta go," he says grimly. "Luke is sending us to Chicago."

"Alright," Heath mutters, his Digivice reacting even more to this and he looks down at it curiously.

"Don't let Lopmon out yet," Seth warns him. "We need to get somewhere where we can't be seen first, then all of the Digimon can roam free. We just need to get to our destination first."

"Fine." He quietly pockets the Digivice and follows them through the hallways, eager for this to just begin already. They're all quiet and tired, AJ yawning as she runs her fingers through her hair, blinking slowly. It's crowded, the seven of them holed up around Seth's laptop in his hotel room, more so when they have to hold their arms out with the Digivices against the screen. "Digiport open!" A moment later, it lights up, engulfing them all in the bright glow and absorbing them into the portal, spitting them out of a computer that's in an abandoned, dusty corner of the library.

"Well, this is... different," Ziggler mutters, glancing around.

Heath picks up a book and immediately regrets it as dust billows around him, choking him up. He sneezes, all of them turning to glare at him, but thankfully no one seems to notice, nothing happening afterwards. "What?" he hisses, eyes wide as a few of them roll their eyes, looking away from him.

"Let's let our Digimon out," Seth mumbles, releasing Betamon and greeting him as the others follow suit with theirs, until the room is full of them and the rookie creatures. The room is, thankfully, right down the hallway from the exit, so they're able to sneak out without getting seen, finding themselves in an alley that's empty.

"Alright, now what are we doing?" Heath asks, relieved to be out in the sun once more. "Does anyone know where we're going?" He's just taken a step forward when a glow overwhelms the area, causing him to jump back in fright. "What the hell, man-!"

It's Luke, or rather a hologram version of him, coming from a nearby screen sitting on the ground, one of the few things on the ground not shattered or cracked. "Hello," he greets them. "I'm glad to see you all arrived here safely without being seen. I'm sure you have many questions, but so far all I can tell you is that the data readings we've been seeing originates from near here. CM Punk lives nearby, so we're growing more and more certain that he's the target of what Shonitamon gathered information on."

Heath looks around at the others, noticing a displeased glower on Seth's face. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"Find his apartment, keep an eye on things happening. We had to send you out now because there was a surge in data pressure this morning, and we want to make sure nothing happens while we're unprepared. All of you remain here, but alternate who's watching, so that you're all rested and alert. Considering how populated Chicago is, we want to do our best to keep the civilians here safe."

"Of course," Heath mumbles, lightly scratching Lopmon's ears. Luke fades away and Heath turns to look at the others, unable to look away from Seth as he glares ahead blankly. "Who's going to be part of the team to watch over Punk's apartment first? Maybe since there's seven of us, we should break into two teams, one of three and one of four."

"That sounds fine," Seth says, snapping out of his distracted thoughts and focusing on the others. "Who wants to be in charge of the second team?"

"I can," Mike speaks up, looking around challengingly when Ziggler snickers.

"Fine," Seth says, not caring one way or the other. "Who wants to be with me?"

"I will," Heath speaks up, still curious about the look on his face.

"Me," Alicia seconds, waving her arm over her head.

"So that leaves me with AJ, Ziggler, and Zack. Fine. I think we should first find Punk's apartment, and then split up."

Seth says nothing to this idea, choosing instead just to return Betamon to the Digivice so he can walk in the direction that he believes Punk lives without worrying about questions regarding his partner. The others follow his lead, clear by the echo of their voices behind him, and he grits his teeth, trying to ignore their inane chatter. Heath keeps a close eye on him but, outside of the temper that he's shown since turning his back on his Shield brethern, he doesn't see anything out of the ordinary from him... It still weighs on him that they depend on the man to be something of a leader to them, and he's acting weirder than usual since Luke's admission about Punk.

Shonitamon had gotten an address for them, so they look for it once they think they're on the right path, and it seems to take forever, and Mike finds it first, relieved to find that things are quiet, at least for now. The groups split, Seth's leaving to get something to eat, find a place to strategize until something happens or Miz's group needs to trade places.

Things are tense, though Zack does an alright job keeping Ziggler distracted from picking at Mike while they watch the apartment from an acceptable distance, not wanting Punk to see them and start raising hell over their appearing at his backdoor for what he would think is a no good reason. Heath can only just see them from where he's sitting at an outdoor cafe, sipping at lemonade, so he's watching when AJ stops and looks up at Punk's apartment from down the street, her shoulders held tense as she stands very still, extremely quiet. That sense that something is wrong overwhelms Heath once more and he shudders, turning to find the others. Seth is nearby, Alicia not far behind, and he licks his lips. "Hey, y'all, do you feel like something's-"

Before he can even finish fully formulating what he wants to say in his mind, there's an explosion behind them that sends shockwaves through the cafe, knocking over chairs and sending tables tipping to the ground, glass rattling behind him. Heath jumps to his feet and spins around, gaping at the apartment complex as flames lick at vehicles and frightened witnesses gasp and scream, adding to the general cacophony as something large and green, clearly not naturally part of this world, bursts through the bushes and storms down the street, splintering the concrete into pieces as it goes. Heath stares up at it blankly as it stomps a massive, mechanical foot close to Heath, rattling him down to his teeth. "No... no, no, what is that?"

There's a gleam and Lopmon appears, scared but not backing away from defending her partner. "Petit twister!" he cries, spinning towards the massive Digimon, but failing as it swipes at him with a drill like appendage and sends him flying nearly out of Heath's line of sight.

"NO! LOPMON!" he cries out, his attempts to get up and find his partner stopping, his body frozen as the obviously evil Digimon kneels down and glares right at Heath. "No..." He closes his eyes, certain that this is the end. That, despite Luke's best attempts, there was just no overcoming the terrible strength before them. "We failed," he mumbles, waiting for the peaceful darkness of death to greet him as another lethal appendage approaches his vulnerable body.


	22. chapter 22

Seth is sprawled on the ground, glass raining down against his bare arms. All he can do is watch as the group of them are blown away, knocked off of their feet and left vulnerable as the massive Digimon stands over Heath and snarls down at him. "What is that?" he whispers, unsurprised when his Digivice slowly comes to life, Betamon appearing next to him while the monster is distracted. "Do you know?" he asks, trying to ignore the guilt welling up within him for so abruptly forcing his partner back into the Digivice with no warning.

"Yes," Betamon breathes. "He's known as Breakdramon... That particular Digimon is more machine than organic, and the rumors are that because of that, they lose most of his emotions. He's a cruel killing machine. The fact that he's on earth... Seth, this isn't good. We need to try to do something... he's about to kill Heath!"

Seth sees it, one of the creature's metallic arms close to touching a frozen Heath, but he's not sure what to do about it, while they're all down and out. He's about to tell Betamon to go ahead, try to help, when a female voice breaks through his thoughts. "TEAR SHOOT!"

He looks up, shocked to find Wade Barrett standing not far away, his icy blue eyes narrowed warningly as the water attack from Lunamon slams into the much larger Breakdramon and startles him just enough that his massive arms retreat from Heath, the ginger still frozen and gaping up in shock. Wade curses and rushes forward, gripping him with his good hand, trying to hoist him up without risking his surgically repaired arm. "Get up, you git!" he snaps, relieved when Heath revives and scrambles upwards, following him back towards Seth.

"How the hell did you get here?" Seth demands, certain that solo Digidestined can't access portals, a number of them need to be near a portal for it to open.

"It's very simple," he says, pointing a finger over his shoulder. "I didn't come alone."

Seth looks up to find Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez, with Gabumon and Veemon, standing in wait nearby. His shoulders slump in relief at the reinforcements. "I will never admit that I've said this to anyone, but... I'm glad to see you." He struggles slowly to his feet, relieved when this doesn't seem to attract the evil Digimon's focus anymore than anything else going on around them.

There's so much destruction around, it's hard to see what's just rubble and what may be hiding other members of the Digidestined. Seth worries about having time to unearth them all when Breakdramon is still leering down at them all, but this doesn't matter when the massive green Digimon shifts, ducks his large neck down to peer towards Seth and the former Digidestined. "Oh God," he mutters.

But it's more than Breakdramon that feels off to him in this entire situation. Betamon's claws are digging into Seth's legs, trying to get him to move, when Lunamon tries to bomb him with water again, but unlike the time before, he's expecting it and swats it away before slamming his fist into the ground with a massive crash that rattles everything in the vicinity with the force of an earthquake, sending the newly arrived Digidestined and Seth down to the ground yet again.

His eyes flutter for a moment and he realizes that all of the beatdowns and paranoia caused by Dean Ambrose has nothing on this- he'd much rather go back to the days before the cinderblocks, when he was always on the edge of losing it, keeping an eye out for Dean. At least then, the threat was human, something he could handle on his own, or maybe, in really desperate situations, with the Authority's assistance. This, though... he doesn't think ten of HHH's precious sledgehammers would make a difference.

"He can't Digivolve," Ricardo says abruptly, startling Seth as he looks over his shoulder at the former ring announcer. "Veemon..."

"Neither can Lunamon," Wade says grimly. Del Rio says nothing but it's clear by the frustration on his face that the same holds true for Gabumon. Their Digimon may not have had much of an opportunity against Breakdramon at a higher strength level, but they would all feel comfortable than keeping them at the child-like level they're at right now.

"What do we do now?" Ricardo whispers, sounding surprisingly young considering all of the things he's done since leaving the WWE.

No one has an answer, their eyes locked on Breakdramon's massive frame..

-x

"I feel bad things on the horizon," a tall Digimon riding on the back of a horse speaks up, his face, shoulders, waist and legs covered in golden armor. Likewise, his horse is covered in similar gold armor and a gigantic sword is gripped tightly in his hand.

Tankdramon looks up at him, not seeming too interested in what he's saying. "What do you wish me to do about it, Zanbamon?"

The horse digs his hooves into the ground, knickering uncomfortably, and Zanbamon reaches out to comfort him with a stroke of his fingers against his red flesh. "Check in with Luke, see if there's anything that can be done for the Digidestined there? I am aware things have been moving quickly but they have no idea what they're walking into-"

"That's the point," Tankdramon says coolly, clearly not impressed with the other Digimon's level of concern with the Digidestined's activity- in another world, no less. "They will sink or swim, we've done all we can for them. Weakness cannot be coddled by us, we have enough problems in our world without warning about some humans."

"But if they die, and we lose our only assistance in fighting through said problems, then what do we do?" But Tankdramon has no answer, which is clear by how he turns his back on Zanbamon and ignores whatever else he may have to say on the matter.

-x

The few of them that are conscious fight to their feet, not willing to die like this, without at least trying to fight through this terrible situation. The Digimon are overwhelmed by Breakdramon's shadow, much less he himself, but they wait and stare up at him, collecting their nerve so they can fight... at least die on their feet instead of in the dirt, if it should come to that. Which, unfortunately, is exactly what it seems to be leading to.

Seth's just made it to his feet, Betamon crawling up his side to wait and watch from his shoulder, the two of them trying to accept strength from the other, when he notices movement behind Breakdramon, a slight form brushing up alongside him. He thinks for a wild moment that it's another Digimon, but then he blinks, looks closer and he realizes who exactly he's looking at. He can barely find the breath to get the words out, and when he does, they sound strained and weak. "...AJ? What are you doing?"

The others twist to look at him, but the girl doesn't appear to hear him, her eyes dark and fixed somewhere over his head. She turns after a moment and smirks up at Breakdramon, the only sign she gives that there's any kind of life in her. "...Kill them," she finally speaks, her voice devoid of all emotions.


	23. chapter 23

All of them look at AJ Lee in confused terror as she stares up at Breakdramon like she may have any one of her many love interests in the past, her evil words lingering in the air like a shot.

"Bloody hell," Wade mutters, more and more of the situation slipping through their fingers. Lunamon is incapable of Digivolving, nor are the other Digimon, and now with this AJ revelation...

Heath is still lurking behind Wade, shaky from coming so close to Breakdramon and only just walking away with his life, and his breathing is loud in the British man's ears, adding to his aggravation. "Wade," he mutters, clinging to Lopmon like he's a teddy bear. "What're we going to do?"

Wade shakes his head slowly before stepping backwards, the massive Digimon tilting his head to look down at them, stomping slowly down the street towards them, seemingly following AJ's command. He's lightly pushing Heath back with his good arm, holding his breath, when Breakdramon snorts, a terrible gust of wind blowing them over once more. Wade grunts and looks up, then over his shoulder to find Heath struggling to get back to his feet, Del Rio and Ricardo a little ways away checking on their Digimon and subtly exchanging glances before stubbornly turning forward to focus on the monster heading their way.

Wade turns back to watch as well, none of them able to do anything as the street crumbles under his mass, but something under the pavement glints, attracts Wade's attention and he stares at it for a long moment. There's no way for him to reach it, however, not with Breakdramon standing in front of it.

He's about to give up on that thought, try to figure out another way to either survive for a few minutes longer or escape entirely, when they hear a door open in the apartments nearby and a familiar voice calling out down the street. "What the hell is going on!?"

It's CM Punk and it's clear by the look on his face that he looks like he's walked out into a bad scifi movie, an incredulous look on his face, but the more he looks around, the more it dawns on him. He glances from person to person sprawled out on the ground, recognizing the wrestlers, and swallows, before turning to look at the woman standing a few feet away from Breakdramon's rampage. "...AJ?" he demands, eyes widening even more.

She smirks at him, tilting her head when Breakdramon stops abruptly, one foot a few inches from the ground before he stomps it down, turning slowly to look back at the new arrival. Wade realizes that something about Punk has his attention, the evil Digimon backtracking towards the apartment buildings, suddenly forgetting his original targets, and Wade breathes as the glinting item in the ground is passed once more, left behind safely. The former Intercontinental champion scrambles over the ground, something drawing him towards the item, though he doesn't understand why... until his fingers brush against the cool edge of the item, instinctively gripping it and pulling it towards him. As soon as he makes contact, Lunamon gasps and shudders against his shoulder, Wade's cool blue eyes quickly shifting to check on her, but she seems... happy, a brilliant smile on her face as she clings to him. "What is it?"

"It... it's a data item," she breathes. "They're called digimentals. They allow an alternative way to Digivolve, but I've never actually... seen one before, only ever heard of it. It, it's beautiful."

And he can't really disagree with her, the delicate way it curves in his palm. A shape he can't quite figure out how to describe, with swirls of gold and white along its base. His fingers trail along its edge and he suddenly senses what to say, glancing towards the others. The others who need saved, the others who are unconscious, injured... _Hopefully nothing worse than that..._ but they're all down for the count or unable to do much anyway, so it's up to him. The digimental, as Lunamon called it, is thrumming in his fingers, as if reading his mind, so he looks up and stares at Breakdramon's back as he doesn't even glance towards them, still distracted by Punk and AJ. "Digimental activate!" Wade orders, watching quietly as the item slips from his fingers and floats in midair, Lunamon slowly following suit as her Digivolution begins.

But it's different from the start, clearly nothing like how when she Digivolves into Gatomon. For one thing, his Digivice remains in his hands... she absorbs all of the power from the small item floating close to her. "Lunamon armor digivolve to..." The lights are blinding, the dizzying spinning hard to focus on as her data is stripped away, joins with that of the digimental, and reforms into something much larger. More formidable looking than Lunamon and Gatomon combined. It's clearly Egyptian, the only sign of its origins being the purple tipped tail. A headdress made of gleaming gold blinds him further when she turns just so, a rogue sunbeam glinting off of it, but he still can't get the image of her out of his mind. She's incredible and graceful, four legged and as white as the purest snow with amazing wings spreading out from her shoulders, armor plates jutting out of her paws adding to her impressive vestige. "Nefertimon, the light of tenacity!" she calls out, spinning in a circle for a moment more before coming to a stop, the Digivolution sequence fading and leaving her facing her enemy, brilliant light shining over everything.

_This_ finally attracts Breakdramon's attention back from Punk and AJ, his eyes narrowing as he slowly lumbers back towards the freshly Digivolved Digimon. He roars, a metalic squeechy kind of noise that sends everyone to their knees, grabbing at their ears... except, of course, for AJ. Wade suspects that her ears could be bleeding and she'd still remain on her feet, that smug smirk on her face as she witnesses Breakdramon's upcoming brutality. Punk, however, is not one to be ignored so, before the two Digimon could possibly begin to fight, he races forward and skirts past both Digimon, yet again ruining Breakdramon's focus as he again stares at Punk, a strange look in his somewhat dead gaze that Wade can't quite read.

Punk arrives with no delay, staring at Wade vehemently. "You tell me right now, Barrett. What are you all doing in my city, and what the hell is that thing?!" he demands, waving an arm towards Breakdramon as if it's a mere pest in his house that shouldn't be, and not a monstrous Digimon looking to destroy everything in the vicinity.

Before Wade can answer, however, Nefertimon flies forward and swings her head, calling out, "Cats Eye Beam!" It's powerful, blinding in its own right, the red beam that shoots out of her headgear then, but although it slices through Breakdramon's metal body like a laser, melting it in spots and leaving it damaged in others, it's clear that his focus is still on the gaggle of Digidestined and wrestlers. In fact, he begins his forward motion towards them once more, Nefertimon's follow up attempts at attacking him ignored as easily as the first. Wade freezes, not sure what to do, as the large Digimon grows closer. None of the others can Digivolve, Punk is even more worthless because he didn't even hang around long enough to _get_ a partner, much less figure out how to Digivolve it, and...!

Breakdramon's large claw casts a shadow over all of them as he holds it over their heads, Wade immediately blanking on all thoughts and insults, his tan leaving with them as he stands there, pale and in horrified awe at what's about to befall them all... literally.


	24. chapter 24

Alicia comes to, shaky and feeling worse than she has even after the most brutal match she's ever competed in. She somehow finds Palmon in the rubble, hugging her close, watching through wet eyes as the monsterous Digimon's foot hovers over them, about to destroy everything in its sight... but then...

"NO!" Punk yells, his authoritive voice causing all of them to cringe. It also, somehow, stops Breakdramon's rampage, the Digimon planting his foot back on the ground and leaning over to stare once more at Punk. Everything pauses, none of them eager to make a move and risk his anger. because for whatever reason Punk's presence had changed things. He moves slowly, his hands fitting together around Punk's midsection and before any of them could think of anything to do, he clasps them shut and lifts the former wrestler, holding him up until they're eye to eye.

Punk looks a little weirded out to be at that height, much less held by the unnatural creature, but strangely enough, Breakdramon doesn't seem to have as much bloodlust when it comes to him for some reason, Alicia thinking his grip on the man seems almost gentle, which is bizarre considering how wild he had seemed only a few minutes earlier...

"What are you?" Punk asks lowly, his eyes locked on Breakdramon, searching him, trying to catch his eye. "You... you are a Digimon? Is that right?" Breakdramon grunts, more metallic grinding sounds issuing from his mouth.

Alicia can just hear him from here, closing her eyes and hoping that his trying to connect with the Digimon- if that's what he's doing- isn't a mistake...

"Before I left WWE," he says lowly, "I was in pain and sick, thought that I was hallucinating due to my insomnia... a man came to me and told me I had been chosen to lead a new group of Digidestined. I was to be paired up with a Digimon and help save the Digiworld from trouble. But it wasn't... a hallucination, was it? It was real..." He reaches out and rests his hand on the part of Breakdramon's claw that's closest to him. "You were going to be my partner, weren't you?"

Something in the air shifts, tension infusing everything, and then Breakdramon's grip on Punk tightens, his claws starting to slice through his close and break through the man's skin, and Punk groans.

"I'm sorry," he breathes, desperate to avoid the crushing agony against his ribcage but knowing that squirming around would do him absolutely no good. "If I had known it was real, I... I would've done things differently... I wouldn't have... abandoned you..."

Breakdramon hesitates when AJ speaks up, startling all of them as they had forgotten that she was even in the vicinity. "Don't listen to him, he's a liar, haven't you realized it yet? Haven't you all realized it yet? He abandons us, he leaves us to fend for ourselves when he's needed the most, and we're constantly reminded by people who just won't let it go." She grits her teeth and tugs at her hair, turning to look up at Punk as Breakdramon lowers him so she can see him easier. "I hate you. I hate you so much. Breakdramon, finish it."

Alicia looks up as Wade and Nefertimon exchange glances, the Brit nodding at his newly Digivolved partner as she tries to discreetly sneak behind the evil creature.

"You don't mean that," Punk grunts as Breakdramon yet again tightens his grip, Punk's clothes turning red as he grows weaker. "Breakdramon, we... were always supposed to be partners. I know... I messed up, but I want... I want to fix things. Please."

Before Breakdramon can say or do anything, Nefertimon appears, still strengthened by her new Digivolution, and aims her Cats Eye Beam once more at him, repeatedly burning deeper into the wounds she had made in his hide already. This wouldn't have worked so well except that the Digimon is so distracted by Punk and his weakening attempts at explaining his past motivations that he's slow in fighting her off and she continues flying around him, escaping his swatting appendages.

The few Digidestined who are conscious are all watching her, hoping that it'll be enough, that she'll either defeat Breakdramon or perhaps completely destroy him- preferably before Punk loses too much blood. Alicia holds her breath until Breakdramon's grip on Punk slips, his energy fading rapidly as Nefertimon's laser blasts further into him.

Before the sharp claws fall limp and drop him, Punk stares into Breakdramon's face, his own sharp with regret. "I'm sure, in a different world, you would've been the best Digimon partner... possible..."

There's a breath, and then AJ screams "NO!" as Breakdramon's last bit of strength fails and Punk slips out of his hands, falling quickly back to earth.

Nefertimon tries to move in time, get around an unbalanced Breakdramon in time to grab Punk, slow his free-fall, but she skids to a stop in midair, watching as Renamon comes out of nowhere, lunges forward and leaps nimbly into the sky, grabbing Punk and easing him to the ground carefully, Alicia struggling to her feet to help, try somehow to control his bleeding. "He's not going to last much longer," the fox Digimon tells the woman grimly. "There's one thing I can try... Go check on AJ," she says grimly, clearly not wanting Alicia here to witness what she's about to do.

Alicia thinks she can guess, swallowing heavily as she looks at Punk's mangled chest, his shirt nothing more than a couple of strips of fabric pressed against his chest. She turns, only just seeing the bright glow of blue flames behind her as she hurries back towards AJ, the girl staring up at Breakdramon while his data destabilizes slowly, before shattering completely.

As soon as he's gone, her body folds as well, the girl hitting the ground hard. Alicia moves faster, somehow forcing herself past her own aches and pains and grips AJ by the shoulders, holding her up and looking anxiously into her face. She seems normal now, if scared and uncertain what's going on around her, and Alicia hugs her. "It... it's ok, AJ. You're ok, right?"

"What happened?" she cries into Alicia's shoulder. "I don't... don't remember anything, I just... felt so angry, and now I feel so empty..."

"It's ok, don't worry about it. We'll explain it later... you just... just rest, ok? Let us take care of you."

As AJ rests against Alicia, she strokes the former divas champion's hair and stares over, watching as Renamon finally pulls away from Punk, standing up and walking over to her partner. "What did you do?" Alicia breathes.

"He was bleeding too quickly. I cauterized the worst of his wounds to keep him breathing until he can be taken to a hospital." It's a terrible prospect but Alicia's relieved for her quick thinking as she hugs AJ close and murmurs in her ear.

They're still standing there, watching AJ and Punk, while Wade and Heath work together to unearth the others, try to help those injured, though none of them are near as bad as Punk's, when there's a blinding glow that heads towards Punk's prone body. His eyes flicker open as he wearily holds a hand out, the glow taking form in hsi palm until he closes his fingers around a Digivice.

He smiles grimly, staring down at it, when something else begins to form not far from him... A pale grey Digiegg, with small flames drawn along the side, and he turns to look at it before pulling it against his side. "Breakdramon," he murmurs, sensing a purer version of his partner's energy held within the thin shell. "You're... here. Things will be better now. I may not deserve the title of Digidestined, but I'll do my best to be a better partner to you. I promise..."


	25. chapter 25

Dolph Ziggler is far from impressed. Luke had insisted he return to earth and check on Punk. It had been a little over a week since the entire drama with Breakdramon had come to an uneasy conclusion and so he had decided that Dolph, Zack and Heath should be the ones to go make sure things were fine in Chicago.

"Aw, c'mon, bro, it won't be that bad," Zack tells him cheerfully, dropping his arm over Dolph's shoulders. "You have us for company." His grin is wide and ridiculous, Dolph unable to stop his own smirk back in response, Zack's goofiness always making it hard to remain in a bad mood.

"Damn straight," Heath drawls, fingers tapping against his Digivice surface as they walk side by side down the street to Punk's apartment.

Dolph sighs, rolling his eyes and quickly knocking on Punk's door, relieved that they'd arrived before Zack could say something else to egg Heath on. He listens as footsteps approach, a soft conversation heard through the door. They exchange glances before it's finally opened and Punk stares at them, an unimpressed look on his face as a tiny Digimon peeks at them from over his shoulder.

It's a small Digimon with silver armor covering the top of his head, soft brown eyes staring up at them. Blue and white fur covers a tail peeking out from his back and he looks pensive until Punk reaches over and pets him. "So they've finally sent you to check on us, huh? I was wondering when that would happen," he says blandly, stepping aside and turning back to walk into his living room. "Here, Caprimon," they hear him say before following him inside. He's sitting on the couch, ignoring them as he feeds the tiny Digimon slices of fruit, until Dolph sits across from him, Zack and Heath finding places to sit as well.

"Alright if we let our partners out?" Heath asks, preferring to let Lopmon out as often as possible since he normally gets stuck in the small Digivice the entire time that he's on earth.

"Fine," he says, disinterested in what they're doing. Lopmon, Patamon and Impmon quickly appear around them and look around Punk's apartment before Patamon flutters over to look at Caprimon, who stares back at him as he eats quietly.

"He's getting pretty big," Dolph comments, staring at Caprimon. "Have you been keeping him out of the Digivice a lot?"

Punk stares at him. "Yes," he says simply, poking a grape towards the small creature who eagerly eats it. The next grape, however, Caprimon swats with his tail, looking pleased with himself when it rolls towards Patamon, who looks surprised.

He's just picked it up and is about to return it to the baby Digimon when he shakes his head and points his tail at Patamon. "You," he insists softly. Considering he had once been Breakdramon, he's so soft spoken and calm that it throws all of them at the abrupt change.

Patamon smiles at him and obligingly eats the grape once Punk has nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Caprimon."

They only stay for a few more minutes before leaving, wanting to get back to the Digiworld and make sure they're not missing anything major. It's clear that whatever had caused Breakdramon to go berserk has been erased, the Digimon normal and peaceful once more, but they know they'll have to keep an eye on him just in case, especially if Punk keeps him out of his Digivice and he continues to get bigger. But for now, that's not Dolph's main concern.

They return to the Digiworld and find the others scattered around, waiting for something, anything to do. AJ is the only one not around, as Luke had decided to give her some time to sort through what had happened. By what had been pieced together and how Luke had explained it to them, Breakdramon had been watching them since they'd been brought to the Digiworld as Digidestined, sensed AJ's vulnerability after losing her Divas title post-Wrestlemania, and had possessed her until Luke sent them to Chicago, finally bringing him in proximity to target CM Punk. Once Breakdramon had been defeated, AJ had returned to normal, if subdued and a little shaken by all that had happened.

Dolph sighs as they're instructed to return to earth, to their homes this time. He's glad that they've all survived up to this point, but he can't help worrying what may be on the horizon as Seth opens the Digiport and activates it so they can leave.


	26. chapter 26

"I wish I could have you on the show," Zack tells Patamon cheerfully, the Digimon peering down at him from atop his head. "You could help the Zigman and I take over JBL's show, it'd be siiiiiiiiiiick!"

"That'd be fun," the Digimon says, clearly without any real idea of what Zack's talking about.

He catches on and pulls out his phone, grinning up at the Rookie Digimon. "Here, I'll show you," he tells his partner, holding the screen up and pressing play on a video so that Patamon could see it. They're laughing over Zack and Dolph's latest hijinxs, Dolph himself wandering over with Impmon once they realize what Zack and Patamon are doing, glad that Luke hadn't had a true mission for them but had just wanted them to explore the Data sector a little, get a lay of the land.

Make sure everything is as peaceful as it seems. Due to this, none of them are staying close together, all of them splitting into little groups. Miz, Heath and AJ are wandering towards some cliffs, moving out of sight, and Seth and Alicia had stopped a ways back, overseeing their Digimon picking flowers from a nearby field, and everything's so quiet and simple that for awhile Zack thinks he can see the plusses of living in this world, in this sector.

Dolph has just pulled out his phone, loading one of his favorite videos to show the Digimon when Zack feels something suspicious- like they're being watched, or... Before he can speak up and ask the others if they sense it too, Patamon and Impmon start discussing Clem Layfield and how he looks like Heath, wondering if Lopmon knows his partner has a twin out there. Zack and Dolph exchange glances before bursting out laughing. Zack's suspicions are forgotten as they continue to traipse through the grass, Dolph holding his phone so all of them can watch more of the JBL show, witnessing Dolph and Zack's progression in "taking over".

There's a whisper of something in the air but Zack passes it off as the video playing, his eyes locked on the small screen, when something explodes, the dirt raising up beneath their feet and raining mud and gravel down around them, throwing them to the ground and leaving them sprawled against the surface. Zack groans and blinks, glancing around. The sky is still bright blue overhead, and if not for the dirt caking his skin and clothes, he'd almost think nothing had happened... but it's clear it has, because he's stiff and sore, pain radiating up his back. He grunts and reaches out, feeling what has to be Dolph's arm. "Bro? Hey, bro, did you get the name of that truck?"

There's no answer. Zack quickly twists around, glancing over as best as he can... all he can see from this angle is Dolph's hair gleaming in the sun and not much else. Patamon is stirring, his wide blue eyes fluttering open, but Dolph is motionless and Zack can't see Impmon, assuming he's on the other side of Dolph. Grunting, the broski decides to give up on laying around, forcing himself up and glancing around before inching closer to Dolph. "Bro?" he whispers, unsurprised to find him unconscious. He feels around a bit, fear growing as Dolph remains unresponsive until finally... he finds a sizeable rock under Dolph's head and grimaces, a new kind of fear overwhelming him. Dolph has a history with concussions, and a blow like that... "It's ok, bro. We'll get you back to earth, the trainer'll check you out... I'll-"

His words are abruptly silenced when Patamon cries out, "Brachiomon! Zack, _move!"_

Not understanding, the former US champion looks up to find a Digimon that resembles a dinosaur with golden skin and blue stripes crisscrossing up its formidable body lumbering slowly towards them, its long neck shifting this way and that although deep brown eyes never leave them. "What in the...?" he breathes out, his hands still extended towards Dolph, frozen in midair. His Digivice begins to rattle in his pocket and he watches blankly as Patamon Digivolves into Darcmon once more, immediately flying forward and trying to withhold the approach of Brachiomon. But he's quite large in comparison to the freshly Digivolved Digimon's lithe form and Darcmon is quickly overwhelmed by his teeth, tail and sweeping claws, even with his staff and sword flashing as he parries and thrusts the weapons at the dinosaur. Zack's just thought to move, trying to sit Dolph up so he could shift him, finally spotting Impmon a few feet away, when there's a desperate scream behind him and he turns in time to see Darcmon hanging, suspended in midair, as Brachiomon roars and twists his head around, headbutting him down with so much force that he leaves a lengthy crater in the ground. "No!" Zack cries out as he lays there, lifeless.

Impmon down, Ziggler not responding, and now Darcmon... All Zack can do is stay there, watch in shock as Brachiomon heads towards him, eyes locked right on him. He swallows, frozen in place, until he can feel the warmth of the Digimon's breath against his face. "No," he mumbles, realizing that not only is he in the Digimon's sight, but so is Dolph. And, once bored of them, he'll more than likely turn his attention to Darcmon and Impmon and then the others and... "No, no..." He twists again and grabs Dolph under the arms, trying to lift his dead weight. "C'mon, bro, c'mon- we have to move, we can't... can't take over JBL's show or do anything else we talked about if you don't help me a little bit here." He's breathing heavily, tears beading in his eyes, when Brachiomon's shadow forms over him, blocking out the sun and leaving Zack feeling chilled.

Having no choice but to rest Dolph back down on the ground, he grips the first thing he thinks of and stands up, facing off with the much taller Digimon, who snorts derisively at him, almost knocking him off of his feet again. Zack's eyes narrow as he stands between the creature and Dolph. "Are you serious, bro?!" he demands, lifting his arm and throwing the rock that Dolph had landed on. It strikes Brachiomon across the bridge of his nose and the creature roars viciously, shaking his head from side to side to ease off the pain from the blow. Taking advantage of the moment, Zack scrambles, finally managing to lift Dolph up and slinging his arm around his shoulder. "Gotcha, bro, come on, we can- we can make it..." He thinks Heath and Alicia are closer, but he's not sure, heading in that direction anyway. He hopes that it'd be enough to get away but also keep Brachiomon from finishing the job with Impmon and Darcmon still laying vulnerable nearby.

Unfortunately, Brachiomon isn't willing to let them go that easily, another explosion sounding behind them and sending them down once more. Zack tries to correct this, grabbing Dolph once more, but Brachiomon is on them already and he and Zack stare at each other. "I'm not giving up," Zack tells him, unable to hide how his voice wavers even as he grips Dolph's arm, determination burning in his eyes. "I never have, in anything... Some extinct blob of data like you isn't going to change that... C'mon, bro..." He's just dragged Dolph back up, trying not to react as Brachiomon steps forward, his leg leaving a shadow over the two wrestlers as he prepares to stomp them into the ground, when Zack's Digivice comes to life again. He almost drops Dolph in shock but only just holds on, watching in shock as Brachiomon draws away, roaring warily as the device floats out of Zack's pocket and hangs in midair, thrumming so violently that Zack worries it's going to split in two. Instead, there's another flash of light nearby and Zack realizes that the rock he'd used to attack Brachiomon is glowing from feet away.

He frowns and gingerly steps forward to pick it up from where it'd fallen after bouncing off of Brachiomon's nose. He's barely touched it with his free hand, the other still supporting Dolph, when it explodes in light, the rock cracking into small pieces and revealing a small disc that floats in midair before rushing past Zack and floating near his Digivice. Zack's jaw drops as the light concentrates, the Digivice forming a beam that blasts through the crest and strikes Darcmon's motionless form and causes him to float as well. "Wha-... what's going on?" he mumbles, still clinging to Dolph's limp form desperately.

Darcmon's eyes look golden when he suddenly comes to, standing up straight and looking down at Zack as the glow intensifies, the strength behind it surprising the Digidestined. "It's going to be ok, Zack. You unlocked your Digital Crest... I can become stronger now... Strong enough to defeat Brachiomon." He smiles down at his partner before closing his eyes and allowing himself to be overwhelmed by the light, releasing a sigh as he calls out, "Darcmon Digivolve to..." When the flowing data field that surrounds the creature dissipates and Zack can see again, the human-like Digimon has become a large, white beast with four legs, two ending in sharp talons and the other two wide claws. His body is wide and white, with blue stripes crossing his midsection and each leg, large wings erupting from his shoulders and a soft looking tail whipping against his legs. To finish off the impressive package, his head seems to be that of an eagle-type creature, piercing blue eyes visible just past his beak. "Hippogriffomon!"

He moves, and he moves fast. Zack barely has time to feel the breeze as the Digimon flies past them, countering Brachiomon's attempt at attacking with his head again by releasing an intense blast of heat from his beak until he's close enough to slash up the dinosaur's chest with his forefront claws, sending Brachiomon falling back with a brutal roar. "HEAT WAVE!" Another blast of hot air comes from Hippogriffomon but Brachiomon recovers quickly, blasting back with a bubble that starts to boil the further it travels. Hippogriffomon shakes his head, releasing a squeech that hurts Zack's ears even from this distance, the sound waves blasting into the melded together attack and sending the boiling bubble back towards Brachiomon, exploding into his vulnerable flesh and causing him to roar in agony as the stench of burnt flesh fills the mid-afternoon air. Hippogriffomon, visibly tired of this fight, takes to the air once more before diving atop the dinosaur Digimon and shredding what's left of his flesh with his talons, leaving him to delete on the ground.

As his partner de-digivolves in midair, returning to Patamon's form and landing easily next to Impmon, Zack settles Dolph back down on the ground and lightly taps his face. "Bro, you can wake up now," he says, worry bleeding in through his teasing. "Trouble's gone. C'mon. You know, you left Patamon and I to handle that all on our own... some friend you are. We kicked ass and you slept through the entire thing."

Dolph doesn't react and Zack's really starting to worry when... "'Bout time you stepped up and did something, kid," Dolph says groggily, his fingers fumbling and reaching out until he grips the sleeve of Zack's shirt. "Hurts," he groans, learning quickly not to try to open his eyes since the sun is directly overhead, shining down upon them.

"I know, bro. I know. We'll catch up with the others and get you to the trainer's, it'll... it'll be ok." He's not sure about that, the possibility of another of Dolph's title reigns getting hindered by a concussion leaves him sick and anxious, but there's not much else he can do about it now. He's just about to pull Dolph back to his feet when Patamon returns to his side, Impmon stumbling after him. "You guys alright?"

"Yes," Impmon says simply, staring up at Dolph with a searching gaze.

Patamon is also staring at Zack but for a different reason, something hanging off of his ear. "Zack, this is a tag," he tells him lowly, nodding encouragingly as Zack reaches down and collects the item, staring at it. "It'll hold your crest. Speaking of..." With his hands free now, Zack finds his Digivice on the ground and recollects it. He's barely touched the crest however, when it floats upwards and slides effortlessly into the tag, fitting perfectly. "You can wear it around your neck, it'll be safe there," his partner explains. "Hiding it while you compete should also be easy... it could fit into your boots..."

He nods, resting his fingers against the small piece of glass that that crest is now behind, examining the markings on the yellow item. They oddly resemble a sunbeam, he thinks, which seems fitting somehow. "What is it?" he finally asks, looking over at Patamon.

The young Digimon smiles calmly. "It's the crest of Hope, Zack. You never giving up on saving Dolph, on escaping Brachiomon, activated this power, allowed me to Digivolve past the Champion level. I can now achieve the Ultimate level of power as Hippogriffomon."

"Siiiiick," Zack breathes, amazed that he was the first to achieve such a thing. Placing the necklace safely around his neck, he leans over and smiles at Dolph. "C'mon, bro. Let's find the others and go home."


	27. chapter 27

_We can make them pay,_ an echoing, familiar voice whispers. _You don't have to be trapped with that so-called partner any longer... I will be your new partner... we will do great things together..._

AJ gasps and chokes, waking up feeling like her heart's about to race out of her chest. She moans and collapses onto the grass, whimpering and struggling to regain control of herself when she feels a weighty stare on the back of her neck and sits up wearily, unsurprised to find Renamon staring at her coolly. Breakdramon's words echoing in her mind, she swallows and looks away. "What do you want?" Despite the tense tone of her voice, she feels guilty. Renamon had been a fine partner despite their difficulty in getting along, it had been AJ's weakness that had brought Breakdramon into their lives, into the Digidestined's world and almost killed all of them. If Lunamon hadn't evolved, if Punk hadn't appeared when he had, many innocent people could've been killed. She's not sure what to do with the weight of it all, how terrible she feels. Even her regaining the divas title hadn't been enough to make her feel better.

"Come with me," Renamon grits out, a yellow paw held out to her. AJ swallows and stares at her for a moment before gingerly obeying, watching with some fascination as cool claws encircle her hand protectively and draws her up, leading her past where Luke tends to meet them. Renamon is all too aware that her Digidestined hasn't been sleeping much since everything in Chicago had gone down, and it had finally caused her to fall asleep in the middle of one of Luke's mission announcements. Then and only then had Renamon decided enough was enough. It was time for drastic measures to be taken.

"Where are we going?" AJ finally asks once Luke's area is out of sight, not that surprised when Renamon doesn't falter, continuing to walk towards... nothing that the divas champion can see. She sighs and squeezes her partner's paw, trying to gain her attention, but even that doesn't get her anywhere so she shuts her mouth and continues walking behind her, brown eyes flicking here and there as she looks for something, anything that would give her a hint towards what Renamon is planning. It's a quiet area of the sector when she first feels it- something tickles against her flesh, raises all of her skin like goosebumps, but with an intensity that leaves her floundering as she tries to locate it, figure out what exactly is leaving her so frightened all of the sudden. "Something's in the air," she says blankly, eyes locked on the sky as Renamon turns to stare at her.

"Good," the fox creature says simply. "We're close then." Before AJ can ask, demand further answers, Renamon leaps ahead, taking AJ with her. She'd clearly grown impatient, upon realizing that AJ can sense something ahead, and had decided to hurry the process along. AJ stumbles as they land on firm ground once more but there's no further opportunity for her to regroup, looking up in time to see Renamon bow her head in an apparent show of respect.

"Wha-?" AJ's voice dies quickly away as she sees it. There's a Digimon nearby, clearly the cause of her strange physical reaction to her surroundings, and she gulps. The humanoid creature is tall, menacing and dangerous looking. Electical pulses seem to comprise a fair amount of his body, the non-energy parts of his body that are visible appearing to be metal plates in the shape of lightning bolts. But the truly horrifying part of his is the massive sword he's brandishing, equally large gloved hands gripping the hilt tightly. Lightning is the power source for this as well, streaming between the dark plates that meet and form its sharp, terrible shape. She falters and tries to step back but Renamon has ahold of her and seems unwilling to let her go. She gapes at her partner, wondering if perhaps she was wrong, if perhaps Renamon was-

"This has to stop," the Digimon says calmly. "You are guilty and paranoid, and are falling asleep on missions now. I want to help this world but I am unable to without you. So I have brought you here, to Jupitermon. He can... assist you, one way or another."

AJ swallows. "That... doesn't sound too comforting," she mumbles, staring up at the watchful creature looming overhead. "Renamon..."

"This is the best way," her partner insists rigidly. "You need answers, and this is the best way to receive them." Taking in AJ's confused stare, she smirks. "Jupitermon here judges people by if they are evil or not."

AJ gapes up at him, suddenly feeling even worse as she ponders everything that she's done over the years- to her various exes, to Kaitlyn, Paige, Ricardo... so many others during her time as GM, and even when she didn't have that particular power behind her. "I don't know," she says doubtfully, shaking her head. "Renamon... I'm not a nice person."

"Nice has nothing to do with it," her partner says impatiently. "This has more to do with what is in here." Her paw rests over AJ's chest, above where her heart is racing, and her lips tilt upwards in a faint smirk. "However, if you don't want him to test you, to allow it to remain unknown, I understand." It's a gamble for her too, if AJ would fail this test, more likely than not Renamon would as well, and she doesn't necessarily want to face Jupitermon's reaction should they both prove to have any amount of evil lurking within them.

However, Renamon's words work the way she'd expected them to. AJ considers continuing to live like this, tense and unable to sleep for five minutes without nightmares, so she steps away from her partner and approaches Jupitermon determinedly. "Test me," she says clearly, watching as the creature looks down upon her, his sword tilting towards her. It flashes, it gleams, it shakes and she's just begun to secondguess herself when he lands in front of her, the weapon remaining aimed at her. It's large enough to cleave her in two with one strike, but she holds her ground, staring at him.

He watches her for long moments, eyes gleaming behind his mask as the electricity continues to sizzle against her skin at their close proximity now. AJ's just shifted uncertainly, thinking perhaps it was a mistake after all, when Jupitermon raises his sword and holds it right atop of her head. She squeaks, wondering if he's giving her a few moments for last words, or a prayer, something... when he speaks, his voice as crackly as the energy passing through his body and weapon. "You are not evil, Digidestined."

His words take a moment to register with the overwrought girl and by the time they do, he's gone and she's slumping bonelessly to the ground, staring ahead at the blank spot where he'd once stood. Renamon steps forward and rests a hand on her shoulder, waiting for her to collect herself so they can return to Luke's and see how the mission went. AJ's actions, however, surprise Renamon as she reaches up and rests her hand on her partners', squeezing it softly. "Renamon?" she asks after a few minutes, clearly almost ready to get and go, if the anxious tapping of her toes are any indication.

"Yes?" she asks simply, almost expecting to get yelled at or abandoned for potentially risking AJ's life on such a situation.

"...Thank you."


	28. chapter 28

"What's the story?" Heath asks after a few moments, resting his hand on Lopmon's head and stroking his soft fur.

His partner laughs and rolls his eyes a little, staring down at him. "Weren't you listening, Heath?"

"Kind of, but not." He smirks. "I knew you'd tell me whatever I needed to know." The group of the Digidestined are wandering through the virus sector, searching out their latest mission, when Heath grimaces and grips his head, trying to cover his ears. "What is that noise?!"

"Our mission, Okuwamon," Lopmon sighs, pointing in the distance with his small paw. Heath turns to look, still grimacing at the ridiculous level of noise coming from that direction, but his discomfort quickly fades away as he realizes. A massive beetle type Digimon is lumbering over a small village of houses, ridiculous pinchers and teeth tearing and shredding, roof particles floating in the wind.

"Damn," he breathes, watching in shock as Digimon run screaming from their homes as they're destroyed around them. "Go, Lopmon!" he urges, relieved when the others follow suit, siccing their partners on the leering Digimon. It notices immediately and turns to look at them, the sun glinting off of its silver shell, pinchers clicking together as he flies off of the collapsing house and rushes towards them.

His voice grates through them, metallic and terrible, and all of the Digimon freeze, tense and watchful as his words register with them. "BEETLE HORN ATTACK!" What follows is incomprehensible, the destructive force seeming to move at double speed as he runs roughshod over them all, leaving the Digimon unconscious and lifeless on the scorched earth.

Lopmon is spared, due to being on Heath's head, but he doesn't hang back for too long, quickly shaking off his shock and unease and flying towards the destruction. Not even half there, he starts to glow with a familiar light, Heath watching on in relief as the source of it comes from his Digivice, Lopmon growing and maturing as he becomes Moosemon, hitting the ground with a running start and lunging towards the still rampaging creature. "Saint Roar!" he yells, bellowing right in Okuwamon's face and stopping him short before he can turn his focus onto Moosemon. Okuwamon releases a desperate cry and tries to break free of his confusion, unable to do anything else as Moosemon lunges up near him, his formidable heels coming crashing down with murderous intent.

Okuwamon, however, is still strong and he shoots up abruptly, sending Moosemon down to the ground in a tangle of legs, leering down at him as he regroups. His intimidating pinchers approaching Moosemon, he seems to be looking forward to taking a bite out of the downed Digimon when... there's a fury of calls overhead as a swirl of attacks wash against Okuwamon, sending him back, away from Moosemon in a scream of disapproval.

Moosemon looks up as best as he can from this awkward position and releases a soft breath, relieved to find his fellow Digidestined partners standing, some looking worse for wear, but capable of defending this sector, their partners, and everything else, giving him time to get up to his feet and shake off the embarrassing prospect of feeling like young calves still learning to walk. As soon as he's up, he's back after Okuwamon who had also effectively shook off the damage he'd took... almost. Renamon's diamonds had left a clear gash between his wings, where he seems the most vulnerable, so Moosemon targets it, leaping up as high as he can manage before... "Punisher!" he roars out, landing with a devastating thud that rocks through both of them, though Moosemon only notices the strange sensation as his hooves crack through Okuwamon's body, the evil Digimon freezing while Moosemon frees himself, data showering around them, and lands back on the ground.

Okuwamon tries to say something, tries to fly, walk, anything, but there's nothing to be done, no way to make his dying body respond to what he wants from it. Not anymore. He's still struggling when the last of his data seeps away, the other Digidestined sighing in relief before they turn to look at the houses destroyed by his rampage.

One by one, they collect their partners and walk towards the village to see how they could help, begin rebuilding the creatures' lives bit by bit, make sure that all are healthy and accounted for. Heath smiles and strokes Moosemon's flank, relieved for his presence in his life. Most of them had bonded early with their Digimon, but he had never had any doubt- he and Lopmon were meant to be best friends, and so far his assumption had been proven correct. "Cmon, Moosemon, let's go help some of these poor Digimon fix up their houses," he says, smiling when his partner shakes his head in agreement.


	29. chapter 29

"How is your arm feeling?" Lunamon's voice is soft, muffled from the folds of Wade's jacket. It's too warm to wear it in the balmy Florida weather, even in October, so he'd had to ignore a good amount of strange stares from people passing him at the water park, but he ignores them. His Digimon partner doesn't get to see the water often enough, considering she has control over water-based attacks, and this seems like the best option outside of the beach, which is generally even more crowded and harder to be inconspicuous at.

He rotates said arm, careful not to dislodge her, and grins briefly when she releases a sharp giggle, not expecting the gust of wind that sweeps through the fabric surrounding her. "Better every day, I'll be returning to the WWE soon... and then we can resume being Digidestined properly."

"I'd like that," she says softly, closing her eyes as he reaches under the sleeves and strokes her forehead.

"So would I," he agrees, continuing to walk around. He's trying to find somewhere quiet enough that she can come out and swim for awhile, but he hasn't succeeded in his mission yet.

She stirs, causing the jacket to wiggle, but before she can voice the suggestion that they try again some other day, Wade bumps into something, the impact causing him to gasp lowly. "Lunamon," he says tensely, relieved when she immediately frees herself from the jacket and settles on his arm, staring at the strange gold ball floating at Wade's chest level. "What is this?"

She examines it for a long, tense moment, before shaking her head. "Nothing I've ever seen before, Wade. What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know," he breathes. "It's not doing anything..." And he's right, the thing seeming quite content to just float in mid-air. There are no obvious facial features, the thing is just... spherical and gold, gleaming in the sun. Wade and Lunamon exchange glances before she hesitantly leans closer and swats at it, her paw sending it a few feet back before it recovers and floats once more in front of them.

"What if it is summoning something stronger? Something I can't beat on my own?" Wade's fingers slip into the jacket once more at Lunamon's fretting, closing around the Digimental. "Wade... What should I do?"

He's tempted to just wait, see what happens, but such strategy had never done them many favors in the past. "Tear Shoot it, see what happens," he murmurs, glancing around at the few people scattered around who haven't yet noticed what's going on only feet away from where they're standing.

Lunamon nods and follows with his command, sending the now-familiar water ball out towards the sphere. It glistens, falling back a little bit from the impact, but it doesn't move. It doesn't detonate. It doesn't do anything. Lunamon glances up at Wade, who shrugs, and tries again, focusing as much of her energy as she can into one blast. This has the same reaction as before and she swallows, wondering if it's her not being strong enough or what exactly is going on. "Wade..."

He rests his hand on top of her head, trying to sooth her disappointment, both of them watching the strange thing closely as... it spins in place and disappears, Wade blinking and shaking his head. "Wait, what just happened?"

"It's gone," Lunamon murmurs. "Where did it go?"

"Let's go walk around and make sure nothing else is happening anywhere else." But everything is quiet, peaceful, and Wade frowns, glancing around. He feels like he's being watched, as if this all was a test and they had passed... somehow. Even so, he carries on, walking through the park once more, not wanting to leave the continued peace to chance.

They've wandered for almost an hour when Lunamon falls into a doze against Wade's shoulder and he smiles, glancing down at the small creature. He hadn't bothered hiding her and no one had said anything about the white creature hanging off of his arm, probably thinking it was a swimming toy for a child or something. _Not that I've ever seen an inflatable raft like you,_ he thinks with a smirk.

-x

A tall, golden Digimon watches from the Digital World, his hand held up as multiple golden spheres surround him. "I suppose that Luke is correct. They've passed at any rate... I sense no animosity from them..." The spheres shift, rotate around his body a little faster, then calm down. "Soon... soon, we will try again..."


	30. chapter 30

"Wade said what?" Alicia asks, staring at Heath as they walk side by side through the Vaccine zone, on the look out for trouble, as always.

"Some golden thing, floating around 'em while they were at a water park on earth, but it didn't really do anythin'. Heath shrugs. "They attacked it and it just... disappeared. They searched around but there was nothin' else that they noticed outta the ordinary."

"This Digital World thing is weird enough on its own but now weird creatures keep showing up on earth, and I don't know what to think," Alicia mumbles, clearly thinking of her sister and parents, innocent people who could easily get caught up in the maelstrom should more of these beasts decide to travel to their world.

Heath looks worried too for a moment, but quickly shakes it off, deciding not to dwell on it. "This area's so quiet, I dunno why Luke sent us here," he drawls, walking past her.

"Femous last words," she mumbles, shooting a vague smile at him as she walks faster, passing him easily enough with Palmon by her side. She grins as he sputters and mimics her, utterly butchering her voice due to his thick Southern accent. Before she can respond, however, everything turns dark as something blocks out the sun. The group of Digidestined stop short and look up, agape at what could possibly be causing this but unable to tell because of the blinding light behind the creature, its outline the only thing visible. Palmon's thorny claws dig into Alicia's leg as they wait, watch for something- anything- to happen.

When something _does_ happen, none of them are prepared for the shout that proceeds it. "DRAGON'S ROAR!" Abruptly, the shadow that's blocking the sun disappears, blinding all of them and they look away with varying degrees of winces as their eyes water with the intensity of it. None of them notice as the shadow forms on the ground before them, a tall Digimon with a humanoid body which is covered in white armor. None see as he holds his hands out towards them, palms out. But they all feel the heat, and a rough flash of red through the dizzying colors kaleidoscoping their vision, before everything goes dark.

It's with an intense soreness and painfully gritty eyes that Alicia slowly comes to, her fingers digging through the grass and dirt surrounding her, when she remembers. Glancing around, she's relieved to find that the others are moving as well, Heath scooting towards her with a worried, confused look on his face. Lopmon is hanging limply from his shoulder, looking as weak as Alicia is feeling. "What happened?" she whispers to Heath once he's close enough. "Is everyone ok?"

He nods, leaning over to help her sit up. "Yeah, we all seem to be... I woke up in time to see some armored Digimon delete, I'm guessin' he's who attacked us..." Whatever else he's about to say fails to slip past his toungue as he stares at something, lips parting in shock.

"What is it?" Alicia's just asked, turning to look when her jaw drops as well. A golden sphere, similar to what Heath explained that Wade had witnessed, is floating before her, glowing serenely. They're still staring uncertainly at it when it flies foward and impacts with Palmon, who seems as surprised as the others, but unharmed. Alicia's just reached out for the sphere, curious and wanting to see if it's able to communicate with them, when it disappears, her fingers only inches away from it. "What the-!"

Heath blinks a few times before pulling himself to his feet, holding a hand out to her. "Let's go back to Luke, maybe he'll have an explanation of what just happened."

Alicia takes his hand, nodding in agreement, but she thinks she already knows. Something tells her that little sphere and whatever had brought it their way- and Wade's- wasn't antagonistic... She senses that it had somehow saved them from the Digimon that Heath had seen. Her deduction continues to be a comfort to her when, upon hearing the full story, Luke has no idea of what exactly has been going on lately either.


	31. chapter 31

"I'm injured," Zack announces, causing all of them to freeze before the other Digidestined begin to murmur amongst themselves. Miz, however, keeps quiet for once, watching his friend watch Luke. "I might need surgery, and I won't be touring with WWE until I get this all figured out."

Luke works this over for a minute, staring at him intensely. "I see." Mike can only imagine how frustrating it is for him to see his carefully laid plans falling apart within a matter of months, having to accept that any member of the team he'd so carefully put together to keep his world safe is susceptible to injury or termination at any time, and it's beyond his control. As it stands, they're going to now be down six members of the team but Zack's health does matter more, and Miz can tell by how the younger man is holding himself that his arm is giving him a lot of pain, even his balance off and breathing a bit labored as he tries not to move it too much.

Ziggler shifts closer, offering him some sort of support, which Zack accepts with a silent grateful glance back at his best friend before turning back towards Luke. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to get injured, it's just one of those things." The tone of his voice and the look in his eyes proves that he's lying desperately, trying to remain strong as he faces this uncertain recovery period when his future career prospects are already questionable at best.

"I understand," Luke finally says, his eyes softening somewhat. "If you could keep me apprised of the situation, I would appreciate it. Do you think you can manage one last mission before you go?"

Zack nods. "I think so, yes."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Luke comments, stepping closer and resting a hand on Patamon's head, stroking his fur gently. "As it stands, it appears that a village comprising mostly of Patamon are getting attacked and I need you all to go put a stop to it, calm down the remaining Patamon. Do whatever else needs to be done..." He smiles kindly down at the wide eyed Digimon before stepping away from them and nodding briskly. "Ophanimon is waiting for you all at the portal."

Miz falls in step with the others, standing close to Zack and Dolph, who are discussing the match he'd had with Rusev, and when Zack first noticed there was a problem. _That explains the picture of him with ice on his shoulder, I guess,_ Mike thinks. _Remind me to avoid Rusev..._ He protectively runs his hand over his face and continues on to where the portals are waiting, Ophanimon nodding at them all as she patiently watches them go, one by one, into the stream of data that will transfer them to the Vaccine zone.

The little maps on their Digivices pointing them in the right direction, it's thankfully a short walk to get there from where the portal's at, the smoke from the attack visible from this short distance. Mike swallows and speeds up, following the others towards it. They can tell, the dismal fog surrounding the area isn't just ordinary mist- no, data is so thick in the air that it makes it hard to see. "Damn," he whispers, Monodramon looking equally as unsettled.

They've almost reached the partially destroyed village, only a few bare bones of buildings hinting that it once _had_ been a village, when there's a blast and a metallic voice stops them short. "Intruders. Intruders. You are not welcomed here. Intruders. Intruders."

This verbal warning looping a few times, Mike swallows and glances around at the others who look as unsettled as he feels, if not more. "Blue Guardian," Monodramon speaks up, stepping towards the Digimon. "What happened to you?" It's then that Mike sees dark red eyes flashing from the digital mist in front of them and a terrible sense of foreboding overwhelms Mike.

"Critical Blow!" this so-called Blue Guardian calls out, a white bodied creature with blue armor crisscrossing its seemingly female body swooping down from nowhere, landing heavily where Monodramon had been just moments earlier- Mike had shook off his fear and rushed forward, tackling his partner- it took all of his strength but he'd taken the Digimon down just in time, protecting him from the attack that had left him so scared.

Monodramon gasps and shakes his head to clear it. "Thanks, Mike," he chokes out.

"BOOM BUBBLE!" Patamon cries out, his attack impacting with Blue Guardian again and again until she reacts, forming abruptly in front of Patamon and moving to attack her similarly to how she'd attacked Monodramon.

"NOW!" Mike cries out, turning to watch as Monodramon glows, shifts, evolves. He'd been nearly unconscious and had missed it the first time, enraptured with his partner growing and becoming stronger because of _his_ help. When Strikedramon fully forms, he's on Blue Guardian before she can make contact with Patamon, slicing her viciously with his claws. She falls back but doesn't seem to lose her determination to continue attacking anything in her way. Which, right now, is Strikedramon.

"STRIKE FANG!" he offers, his entire metallic body burning bright, Mike gaping as he slams towards Blue Guardian, the robotic creature barely blinking as she dives aside and once more targets Patamon.

"I don't think so, bro!" Zack cries out, ignoring his pain for a moment as he holds his Digivice up high. "Go for it, Patamon!"

They all watch, Blue Guardian buffeted backwards by the energy as Darcmon appears once more in a flood of feathers, flying high above the corrupted creature. "Dancing Sword!"

"Strike Fang!" Between the two of them, the robotic protector of the sector is trapped, unable to avoid the swords _and_ Strikedramon's intensely hot metallic body, soon succumbing as Darcmon lands a final blow with his sword, held so close to Strikedramon in his attempts at attacking Blue Guardian that it too is burning bright red and slices through her body like it's butter. Her data joins in with the rest streaming around and makes it even harder to see, but Darcmon seems to sense what's beyond the mist anyway, flying through it easily.

Zack looks a little anxious but lets his partner go, gripping his sore arm as the other Digidestined, who had been disoriented by first the mist and then the blast that had heralded Blue Guardian's first attack against them, crowd around him, waiting to see what Darcmon is doing. They hear him before they see him, his wings fluttering desperately until he lands before them, his arms full of Patamon, all tired and weak, but alive. Each Digidestined step forward and take one from him, Zack clicking lightly at the one in his arms that seems younger than the others, eagerly snuggling into his warmth.

"Let's take them back to Luke, he'll probably be able to help them," Mike murmurs after a moment, brushing some dust and debris from the fur of the Patamon currently dozing in his arms. The others all agree to this and head for the digiport, Mike stopping short when he realizes that Zack is lagging behind them all, staring at him. "What is it, broski?"

"Just wanted to say thanks, bro. For having my back back there." He grins a little and strokes the Patamon's chin, offering it some water from a bottle. They had started putting things in bags just in case they'd come across trouble, get stranded and need supplies in the Digiworld, and so far, they hadn't needed much of it, but this time at least it'd have purposes.

"Any time, man. Like I know you'd have mine."

"Woo woo woo, you know it, bro." He laughs a little bit and lightly nudges Darcmon when he crowds too closely to look down at the small creature, wanting to ensure that the Patamon are all doing ok on the journey back.

Mike watches him with a small smile and shakes his head. _Injuries suck, but one way or another, I have no doubt Zack will be just fine. Besides, now if something happens in New York, we have someone right there to help out... that's always good._


	32. chapter 32

"I don't get this," Seth comments from where he's sitting on Seadramon's back, staring at the ocean surrounding them. "Making all of us come here just to split up and look around the different sectors... when there doesn't seem to be a problem? I think Luke's been alone too long, he's losing it."

The sea snake continues swimming forward sedately but he turns his head so he can see Seth easier. "I think it makes sense, Seth. We always do missions as a team, and it makes it hard to bond one-on-one when we're on earth and forced to stay in the Digivices so often. Considering how more and more Digimon are getting corrupted and there are missions more regularly, Luke's doing the best he can to make sure that we remain good partners. Especially with more and more of the team dropping to injury or whatever else. I know you're busy with your..." he hesitates, wanting to get the term correct, so as not to offend Seth. "... Money in the Bank briefcase, but this is important too, and we'll be done soon because the water is very quiet today."

"Good," Seth mumbles, shifting closer to wrap his arms around Seadramon's neck. "I don't mean to seem in a rush to get out of here and everything, I enjoy spending time with you, you're my partner... we kinda clicked from the first second I saw you, it's just... I get jittery sitting still for too long, you know that."

"Yes, I do," Seadramon chuckles, sending his tail up through the water and splashing Seth from behind, causing him to gasp in surprise and squeeze the Digimon harder while trying to regain his bearings.

"When did you and Ambrose meet and discuss how best to torment me?" he groans, shaking his hair of some of the water clinging to it. Seadramon doesn't respond and Seth frowns, peering up at his partner. "What's wro-" He's not finished asking when he sees it. The air surrounding them is turning cold, his breath turning into mist as soon as it slips past his lips.

"Se- Seth," Seadramon says and it's then that Seth also notices that the water surrounding them is turning into ice, freezing Seadramon into place.

"What the-?!" Seth exclaims. "Seadramon!" His partner's eyes are wide and horrified, his body slowly drifting into shock as his already low body temperature hits dangerous levels. Seth has only one option and he takes it, leaping from Seadramon's body and hitting the ice, amazed when it holds, despite cracking just a little under his feet. He holds his arms out and when Seadramon devolves back to a weak Betamon upon realizing that Seth is safe, he scoops him out of the water before the ever expanding ice can cover him as well and holds him close, desperate to figure out what's going on. They're not far from shore, but it's still more than a little daunting distance wise, especially with whoever's behind the ice out there who knows where...

"Hey! Digidestined," a small, child-like voice calls to him. "This way!"

Seth looks up to find a literal fireball talking to him, with bright blue eyes and what looks like strange staples for its mouth. He gapes at the creature as it floats in midair, staring anticipatingly at him. "DemiMeramon," Betamon somehow finds the strength to say. "He's harmless, and can help us warm up... go Seth, please. Before the ice shatters under our feet."

Confident in his partner's assumption, Seth listens and races across the ice, relieved when he arrives. DemiMeramon leads him to a small cave where a cheerful fire is flickering and Seth sighs, resting Betamon near it and outstretching his hands towards it as the amphibious Digimon responds, lifting his head and inching closer towards it, desperate for the warmth as well. Once they feel a little more comfortable, Seth stares at DemiMeramon. "Do you know what's going on out there?"

The Digimon looks sad, or at least as sad as a floating fireball can look, and glances out of the mouth of the cave. "It's IceLeomon," he explains vaguely. "There once were a number of fire type Digimon around this area but the ocean grew and grew, overwhelming more of the ocean, and scared most off. He was our guardian and he took this personally... I am the only one who remains, for him, but it's not enough. He has grown... angry... and attacks anyone who comes in sight of the caves. His need to protect has gone to the extreme but I'm unable to get through to him. Now if I try to talk to him, he tries to attack me as well... as if he doesn't recognize me either."

DemiMeramon looks close to tears by the end of it and Betamon whispers, "That explains a lot." He sits up, seeming a lot more like his old self, to Seth's utmost relief. "He's been corrupted by the loss of most of his charges. We need to help him, Seth."

Seth grimaces, remembering how fast the water had turned to ice around them. "I'm not sure how, Betamon. If he turns everything to ice again..."

"I'll be ok. I know what to expect this time," Betamon says, shaking his head. "Trust me, Seth. I'm not getting into a situation I can't get myself or you out of." Always unable to deny just how easily it is to do just that, Seth finally accepts this with a jerky nod of his head, watching Betamon leave the cave and dive into the water, which is once more free flowing, blue and warm. He splashes around, making a show of it, until things begin to grow cold again. He immediately Digivolves into Seadramon and casts his head around, looking for some hint of where IceLeomon perhaps might be. "Let me show you how it's done," he calls out. "Ice Blast!" In what he and Seth had discussed with DemiMeramon quickly before Betamon had put his plan into motion, he shoots out blue beams that cascade around the mouth of the cave and coat it with thick ice shards, slowly but surely blocking DemiMeramon inside.

This, as planned, brings IceLeomon out of hiding. He's a tall, pure white beast who stands on two legs despite his clearly lion-like features. "FROZEN FURY!" He moves quickly, Seth barely registers the yell before he's sideswiping Seadramon with a punch that sends his head shooting backwards as ice forms around the armor surrounding his face. The sound Seth's partner makes following this terrifies him, Seadramon shaking his head desperately and trying to reorient himself, but it's too late. IceLeomon continues again and again, punching him and sending the ice over more of his body until very little of Seadramon is actually visible.

Seth panics and turns to look at DemiMeramon as he watches their only chance at stopping IceLeomon dies before their very eyes. "No!" the little Digimon cries, flying out of the small space between ice chards and flies towards IceLeomon, who barely seems to notice him until he's clinging to his mane. "Stop hurting him!"

IceLeomon shakes his head wildly, tossing DemiMeramon off, and turning to shoot a blast of ice at him in his berserked rage. Seth, however, had been inching forward in a blind hope that DemiMeramon would be enough of a distraction that he could somehow help Seadramon, lunges forward and catches the Digimon, saving him from certain deletion as he collapses against the ground, the ice blast instead striking him and eating at his leg. It's so cold, it burns but he doesn't cry out, forcing himself back to his feet to watch Seadramon. "No," he breathes, still holding onto DemiMeramon as they watch on in terror. "Please... Seadramon, not like this. We can't... WE WON'T LOSE LIKE THIS!"

There's a sudden, simultaneous sound of ice cracking from two different places and Seth gapes, confused, as first something shoots through the ice coating DemiMeramon's cave, and Seadramon is abruptly lit by fresh light, familiar and beautiful in its subtle differences from what Seth's used to. His Digivice is thrumming and he instinctively pulls it out of his pocket, holding it up as the light from it strengthens, stabilizes... shoots through a small, brown square with a strange symbol in the middle before impacting with a rotating Seadramon. "Seadramon Digivolve to..." He grows, his blue and white serpent-like body becoming red with a white underbelly and even more fins flapping around his body. His eyes glow a cool blue, with a strange lighting bolt like fin forming out of his head, the armor covering his face growing to fit his new features. "MegaSeadramon!" he roars out, slapping his massive tail against the water with renewed vigor, shattering the bits of ice remaining as though they're nothing.

IceLeomon seems unconcerned, however, and slams forward with another punch... but his ice attacks seem meaningless to MegaSeadramon now. "Lightning Javelin!" It's massive, lights up the entire area as a bolt of lightning shoots off from the bolt protuding from his forehead, slamming straight through IceLeomon and leaving him motionless as his body crackles from the impact of so much electricity. "Let me show you how it's done," the vicious looking creature tells him calmly. This time, when he throws his head back and then forward, it's a monstrous ice beam that covers all of IceLeomon from head to toe, leaving him unable to move for a multitude of reasons. MegaSeadramon says nothing else as he lifts his tail, which Seth realizes has a golden tip with sharp prongs at the end now, and crashes it down upon the wayward Digimon, shattering him into hundreds of pieces of ice and data, which scatters in the wind as warmth once more returns to the area.

MegaSeadramon pants and collapses onto shore, once more Betamon, and Seth rushes forward, scooping first him, and then the bizarre brown square out of the sand, holding his partner close as he analyzes it. "What _is_ this thing?" It almost looks like a child's attempt of the sun has been chiseled into the stone, with a circle inside of another and triangles of different sizes surrounding it, but something tells him this is much more important than that.

Betamon finally confirms when he stirs slightly, staring at the item in Seth's palm. "It's your, your crest," he explains, his claws resting against the surface of the thing. "A physical representation of your strongest attribute... they help us Digimon partners gain the strength to Digivolve past the Champion level..." He smiles and releases a soft chuckle. "Yours is... courage..."

As Seth stares at him in shock, his energy fades and he collapses once more, though he's still breathing steadily so Seth assumes he'd just fallen asleep in his arms... though Seth decides once he somehow makes his way back to Luke's, he'll make sure to have Betamon checked out just to make sure. "A Crest, hm?" he whispers, staring down at the thing. "Well, something tells me you're going to come quite in handy in the future..." He pockets it, careful to make sure it won't fall out, and then turns to look back the way they'd come. "Now really... how am I going to get back to Luke's?" He groans and stares down at Betamon, wishing that the Digimon could've remained MegaSeadramon for a little longer. "It's ok, I'll figure it out," he promises, knowing that it's not his partner's fault. He'd fought long and hard enough, he deserves this rest.

-x

"One of them has achieved Ultimate Digivolution," a voice muses. "Fascinating... Soon, I will know exactly who shows the most promise... perhaps it is you, Seth Rollins..."


	33. chapter 33

"I'm happy for you, bro," Zack is saying into his cell phone, staring out of his window at the street below. It's cold outside, he can feel it coming through the pane of glass and he looks forward to sinking into bed and not moving until the sun's back out, letting his arm rest more naturally at his side than instead of in the sling it's been since the procedure he'd had to try avoiding the surgery.

"Thanks, kid. It was a pretty great moment." Dolph sounds tired but pleased, Zack picturing him laying in his hotel bed and staring blankly at the ceiling while talking to him.

He smiles and shakes his head, wishing he was there. He likely wouldn't have been booked, but at least he could be there to celebrate with the others at finally being rid of the Authority. "You sound wiped out, bro. I'm gonna let you go so we can both get some sleep. Talk soon, yeah?"

"Course, kid. Night."

"Night, bro." Zack hangs his phone up and turns towards his bed, fingering the Digivice that's laying on his bedside table before sitting down on the edge of the bed, yawning lazily. He can still see out of his window from this position, watching as clouds drift lazily over the moon.

He misses exercising like normal, he misses traveling, he misses seeing his friends... the only thing he doesn't miss is his losing spree growing with every week. He's still staring blankly out when something flashes past the window and he blinks, trying to focus. "What... was that?" Rubbing his eyes with his hand, trying to clear his sleepy vision, he wanders over to look down at the street once more.

He's just rested his hand on the cool glass when there's a bright flash behind him and he turns slightly, looking over his shoulder as Patamon forms behind him. "Zack," the wide eyed Digimon says. "Something feels... strange... I think... you need to get away from the window." When his partner doesn't respond, Patamon's eyes narrow. "Right now, Zack," he advises him, some steel entering his voice.

He's about to fly forward, try to convince Zack to listen to him when... the window shatters entirely and frigid air washes over them, wind pouring into the room and leaving Patamon shuddering while Zack continues standing there, unable to pull himself away from the destruction. "Zack!" Patamon cries out, trying to get his attention, when there's a whisper, little more than a breath, and Patamon can do nothing but watch as cruel looking, red tipped fingers drift into the room and aim towards him, his wings slowing as ice coats his body, sending him sedately to the floor before he's frozen solid, only somewhat visible through the ice.

Zack barely notices, his eyes locked on the Digimon that slips partially through the window, looming over him. "Hello." Zack doesn't answer and the Digimon smirks, tilting his head as he stares at him curiously. He truly looks monstrous, an evil looking centaur with the head and upper body of a human but the legs and rump of a four legged beast, his claws long and sharp as he clings to the side of the apartment building, examining Zack. "You _are_ vulnerable, aren't you? Hmm... Such things always tastes so sweet..." He leans closer and rests his claw against Zack's cheek, a smug look on his partially masked face as the wrestler twitches slightly at the contrast of the Digimon's cool hand so close to his warm skin.. "Come with me... I can distract you from that..."

Zack continues to stare at him, quiet. Finally he nods slowly, not looking back once as the frightening Digimon reaches in all of the way and scoops Zack up, holding him safely in his hand before flying away.

The next morning, the damage is discovered by Zack's horrified parents and they peer down at the ice encrusted Digimon, confused. Zack's mom sinks down on his freezing bed as his dad speaks the words that are heavy in their implications, considering the state of Zack's room. "Zack's gone..." he whispers.

-x

The Digidestined are called into the Digiworld before Raw the next day, some of them silent and lost in thought over what happened at Survivor Series, the rest of them pleased. But all of the mocking ends abruptly when Luke appears before them. "I have determined that another Digimon made its way to your world." He hesitates, clearly not sure what to say to explain what's to come. "It appears he has taken Zack Ryder."

Dolph is the first to react, his smugness over successfully winning for his team the night before and ridding the WWE of the Authority disappearing immediately as he sits down heavily in the dirt, staring blankly at Luke. "But we were just talking last night, he was fine," he says dully. "This can't... can't be right...

Luke stares at him, his cool gaze shifting from Digidestined to Digidestined. "You will be sent back to earth to find him. I must warn you all, it's an impressively strong Digimon so... I more likely than not won't be able to help you once you begin to search for him. Finding Zack is a priority, but you also must keep innocent humans safe, and ensure that he leaves earth. Understand?"

The others are nodding slowly, looking troubled by this bit of news on top of everything else they're enduring, when Dolph makes it to his feet, his teeth gritted together. "We'll find him, we'll get rid of this Digimon... everything will be fine. I'll see to it." Seth looks far from pleased at this, scowling over at him, but there is no time... Dolph's already storming off towards the portals and, within minutes, the others are all following him, tired but determined to see it thorugh as well.

Unbeknowest to them, they're being watched from a few feet away. "It appears we have the same target... Perhaps this will work out in both of our favors..."


	34. chapter 34

"This is pointless," Doloh grouses, reaching up to stroke Patamon's forehead as he travels with Dolph, still feeling cold easily after the terror of the week prior, when he'd been frozen to the floor and Zack had been abducted. "I need to find Zack, not travel to yet _another_ zone..." He shakes his head, careful not to dislodge the Digimon.

"Stop moaning, Ziggler," Seth tells him coldly. "Ryder's all you've been complaining about since all of this happened. We're all keeping an eye out, and Luke's agreed to help as well, so what else do you want from us? We can't ignore the entire Digiworld's issues just because your best broski went and got himself snatched out of his bedroom."

"Who the hell asked you, Rollins?!" Dolph spits, ready to go resume what they'd begun the Sunday prior, the only thing keeping him back being Impmon's claws digging into his leg.

Seth looks smug but, before he can say or do anything, a roar echoes overhead, startling all of them. They've barely looked up, trying to find its origins, when multiple bright red rings of energy explode at their feet, sending them all diving for cover as the attack continues on.

Impmon glares up angrily, seeing something that Dolph's unsure of, lifting his hand. "Damn Aquilamon, had to be a flying Digimon..." It's then that Dolph spots it, a brown bodied eagle type Digimon with sharp, beady eyes and terrifying talons that gives him pause even from this distance. "BADA BOOM!" he yells, his fireballs shooting up into the air just to fizzle out when they miss their target. He hisses and grits his teeth, about to try again when Patamon flutters upwards. "Boom Bubble!" Patamon's attack is as about as effective, bursting apart not far from where Impmon's attack had failed.

"Crap!" they exclaim together before exchanging glances, an idea coming to them. "Hmm... what do you say?" the partner-less Digimon asks, his lips lifting into a happy smile when Impmon nods, his eyes gleaming as he considers whatever frightening brainstorm they're both considering.

Aquilamon releases another piercing roar before flying lower to get a closer shot with its energy attack, just for Impmon and Patamon to throw their attacks off at the same time. They combine into fiery balls of oxygen that crash into Aquilamon, sending it off-course and, as it struggles, the Digimon continue to mix their attacks, each fiery explosion causing Aquilamon's wings to sizzle and burn, a well-timed attack crashing into his talons and causing him to roar out in pain.

Dolph looks around to find the others, Digimon and partners alike, staring up in awe at his partner and Zack's, working together to weaken Aquilamon until another attack slams right into his almost weakened side and sends him crashing into the ground, leaving a crater large enough that it feels like an earthquake. Patamon and Impmon approach warily, clearly wondering if they need to try another attack, but they take one look at the Digimon and know: It's already fading, about to delete, so there's no need. It's a magestic Digimon, however, causing all of the Digidestined to feel sad as they think of it getting infected in whatever's been going around corrupting Digimon... "We gotta figure that out and put a stop to it," Seth mumbles, narrowing his eyes at Dolph as he walks past, squeezing Patamon and making him giggle.

"Look at you, learning combo attacks with Impmon! Zack's gonna be so impressed when we get him home safely!"

"We make a pretty good tag team," Patamon says, glancing down at Impmon. "I hope Zack's home soon..."

"He will be," Dolph promises. "I'll make sure of it."


	35. chapter 35

Greymon X-Antibody is a sleek looking dinosaur type Digimon. Bright orange flesh and brown armor covering half of his face, his claws, horns and tail adds to his vicious appearance, AJ overwhelmed as she stares at him. "Mega Burst!" he calls out, flames so strong that she can feel the heat, sweat beading down her forehead despite the fair distance that she and a few of the others have from the on-going battle.

"Diamond storm!" Renamon calls out, the dazzling attack circling the evil creature, her eyes dimming as he bats it away as if it's nothing. "Dammit," she breathes, jumping out of the way as Strikedramon dashes forward and catches Greymon with his own strong claws, the two of them fighting for dominance as their jaws work, trying to get in a bite on the other. AJ looks uncertainly up at Renamon as she and the others fall back, deciding to let Miz's Digimon carry on with what he's doing. "Strikedramon's bite can destablize data," the fox Digimon reminds her. "Greymon's bite can crush whatever it's biting into two. If Strikedramon can get the advantage... perhaps we'll be able to finish this soon."

AJ nods as understanding dawns on her, but already Greymon is overwhelming Strikedramon, throwing him carelessly over his shoulder before rounding on them, his horns gleaming in the pale sun overhead as he charges at them. "Crap!" Betamon and the others take over, continuing to try to shield their partners from this Digimon's rampage. He barely seems fazed by their attacks, however, slamming his fist through their ranks and sending them scattering before leaning over to sneer at the humans, who are watching him, frozen with fear.

He's just opened his jaw as wide as it can go, about to make quick snacks out of the Digidestined, when AJ's Digivice starts to glow, its powerful beam shooting past Greymon and dazing him, causing him to fall back as he swats at the untouchable beam of pure energy, hitting Renamon and allowing her to Digivolve. As Kyubimon, she seems unaffected by Greymon, her many tails whipping around her body. "Dragon Wheel!" she cries out, spinning hurriedly towards him as he prepares his own attack, but she succeeds just a little bit ahead of him, the blue dragon that shoots out of her and barrels towards Greymon overwhelms his attempt, blasting through him and causing him to roar in agony as his body is ate by the blast, destabilizing. When Strikedramon approaches, looking for some revenge for earlier, he succeeds at clamping down on Greymon's arm, furthering the process along.

Kyubimon's cool blue eyes are locked on Miz's partner, but when he devolves back to Monodramon and returns to Mike's side, Renamon does the same, although she looks far from pleased at having her own moment overwhelmed by him. Afterwards, AJ is sitting outside of Luke's, listening to him discuss what's been going on with the Digidestined inside when she hears angered footsteps approach and looks over her shoulder, surprised to find her ex, Dolph Ziggler is storming in her general direction with a disgusted look on his face. "That good of a meeting, huh?" she asks idly after he's been sitting a few feet away for a couple of minutes in utter, pissed off silence.

He jumps, as if not realizing she'd been there this whole time, and glances over at her. "He still doesn't know what's going on with Zack, or who has him." He punches the ground, then tears out a chunk of grass. "Dammit, he and I should be mocking each other over the slammies, and he should be out of the sling now, preparing to rehab his arm so he can come back to the WWE... Not this..."

AJ tilts her head, staring at him. "You know, I sense things sometimes." He turns to look at her once her words register, and the expression on his face causes her to giggle. "No, I'm not insane... much. It's just since Breakdramon possessed me, I'm more... intuned with this world, I guess you could say." She stares up at the sky. "I can sense _him,_ " she breathes. "Probably because he feels the same way I did when Breakdramon had me."

"What are you sensing from him?" Dolph finally asks, feeling a little breathless and scared, unsure if he wants to know what she might be sensing. _Is he in pain, or scared, or..._

Her lips are twitching upwards into a gentle smile, which is almost scarier to him than her typical expression. "He's far from losing hope... he's just waiting to be found," she says simply, getting to her feet. "And if I can guess right, he has total confidence in you doing just that." She glances out at the water where Renamon is lazily drifting a hand, causing faint ripples in the water "Come on, Renamon," she calls. "I want to go home." Turning her back on Dolph, she walks away without a backwards glance, her Digimon quickly following her.

Dolph swallows roughly, watching her go. They'd hated each other vehemently for awhile after the breakup, then had very little interaction in the months that had followed, but now... now they were on this team together, and he wonders if perhaps it will be some sort of healing for them all. Either way, her words stick with him and he closes his eyes, shaking his head. "Continue holding on, broski. I'm not giving up either," he mumbles. "I'll find you soon, I promise."


	36. chapter 36

Heath sighs, walking alongside Moosemon. The group of Digidestined had decided to split up and search the Digiworld for any clue on Zack's whereabouts, not sure if it's worth the time but needing to do something, especially to keep Ziggler occupied. "I dunno, man," he drawls, his hand resting on the Digimon's back. "Zack's been gone for so long... y'think...?"

Moosemon tosses his head and looks over his shoulder at Heath. "I'm sure he's fine, Heath. Why would someone take him and harm him, but then not target anyone else? The rest of us are fine, even the Earth bound Digidestined. There's something else at play here, and we can't give up finding him."

"That makes sense," Heath murmurs, relieved for something to cling to, hold onto hope. They walk on in silence for a little longer, Moosemon's head tossing restlessly every now and again. "What is it?"

"It feels like we're being watched," he mumbles, still trying to focus. "I can't tell..." Heath too is trying to look around, spot whatever Moosemon is sensing, but everything seems normal to him. "Heath-" Moosemon starts to snap, but there's no time. He's barely said that when a wild, rough wind picks up and whips Heath's hair around, making it hard to hear, hard to see. Hard to do anything.

The next thing Heath knows, Moosemon is gone from his side and Heath gasps, struggling to breathe through the gale. "Moosemon!" he yells, his voice disappearing into the force around him. He searches around and finally, through watering eyes, sees it- a large, grey Digimon with red stripes in random places on its insectoid body, hovering a few feet above the ground. He recognizes it immediately as Okuwamon, a Digimon that they'd met in the past and had to fight. His pinchers are clinched around Moosemon's body, squeezing dangerously and the sounds that the Digimon are making is terrifying.

Heath stares on in horror, frozen. "Moosemon!" he finally yells, his vocal chords unfreezing enough that he can say _something._ He paces around under the two of them, trying to find something to do, someway to help, even though he knows there's nothing he can really do.

But Moosemon isn't done fighting, rearing his head back and forth, his horns striking against the insect's body, causing it to waver in midair. As it loses focuses, it falls lower and lower, Heath watching closer. He doubts a mere human could defeat any Digimon on a good day, but he feels the need to do _something_ to try to save his partner. So as soon as he's low enough, Heath leaps. He makes contact with the Digimon's lower pinchers and he crawls upwards, using everything from his entire life- climbing rope in gym class, trees to avoid bullies, ladders for WWE, anything and everything.

"What are you doing?!" Moosemon screams when he spots him, his red eyes widening in terror. "Heath, no!" But his voice is strained, Okuwamon's hold on him tightening when he feels Heath scrambling up his side. "HEATH! Get down!"

"I'm not leavin' you in this situation," Heath snaps back at him, grimacing as Okuwamon lashes out at him with another pincher, again and again until he catches him, slashing his side open. "Agh!" he cries out, gritting his teeth against the pain as he holds on, trying to punch Okuwamon's pincher to free Moosemon. "Dammit..." his vision is starting to blur, the pain and blood starting to stain his side draining him even more.

"Heath, do not let go," Moosemon orders him, tense. "Do not!"

"I'm not," he grunts. "Trust me, you're stuck with me, Moosemon." He forces his head up, their eyes locking. "One of us get free, we're both... both going..."

Moosemon has just nodded when there's a bright, blinding light coming from Heath's pocket and he fights to look down, dizzy and weak at the change in position. His hands aren't free but the Digivice glides out of his pocket and floats in midair, hovering nearby as there's a whisper, like something shifting through grass, as a brown square floats between Heath and his Digivice, his brown eyes locked on it as it. He squints at it, trying to remember what Seth had said. "Is that... my crest?" he murmurs, mindlessly reaching out for it as more blood drips down his side.

"Heath!" Moosemon yells as the power of a further Digivolution washes over him. "Moosemon Digivolve to..." His body grows, thickens. Fur covers his body down to his massive legs, his head rearing back as he shakes his armored trunk around, while he takes on a form resembling the woolly mammoth. "Mammothmon," he hisses, crashing through Okuwamon's grip and hitting the ground with a bonerattling crash.

Okuwamon squeeches, somehow still holding onto Heath through all of this, Mammothmon's head turned up towards him, tracking his motions. "Let him go," the freshly Digivolved creature demands, anxiously clawing against the ground. Okuwamon shifts and if Mammothmon didn't know any better, he'd think the creature was laughing at him, which does nothing more than piss him off further. "Hold on, Heath," he demands, knowing that he'll have to be careful with what he's about to do, but aware that he has to do _something_ or Heath won't be making it out of this... "Tundra breath," he intones, blowing frozen wind from his mouth, aiming it carefully to avoid his human partner and smirking as it hardens over Okuwamon's body, causing him to drop even further.

"No! Beetle Horn Attack!" he yells, sensing his end is near as he begins to rampage, Heath's body falling right to left limply in his grip.

"HEATH!" Mammothmon yells, lunging forward with all of his strength and speed. "TUSK CRUSHER!" He impales straight through Okuwamon's hard shell, immediately destroying him. Heath falls towards the ground and Mammothmon steps quickly, catching him on his furry back. He immediately dedigivolves back to Moosemon, gently laying against the ground and allowing him to slip off of his back. He nuzzles up close to him, realizing that he's shivering, probably from the after affect of Mammothmon's ice attack. "I'm sorry," he mumbles, brushing his face against Heath's. "Please wake up, come on, Heath. We won't find Zack as fast if you sleep through everything."

Moosemon continues trying to warm him up, so focused on trying to warm him back up that he doesn't realize Heath's eyes are fluttering open until he reaches out and brushes a hand down his face, alerting Moosemon to his consciousness. "Hey."

"Hey." Moosemon stares at him for a few moments, making sure that he's ok. "Can you get on my back? We need to get you back to the others, stop that bleeding."

"I think so," he mumbles, squirming over to climb up on his back. "I got it. Yeah. Sure." His grip on Moosemon's neck is weak, barely there, but his partner is careful as he rushes back towards Luke's area, desperate to get Heath help.

"Hey Heath?"

"Mm hmm?"

After the initial wave of relief that he's still conscious, Moosemon breathes out. "Do you know what your crest is?"

"No..."

"Reliability." Moosemon smiles as Heath makes a soft noise against his throat, sure that Heath will register what exactly that means once he's stronger and not bleeding sluggishly.

-x

The room is gloomy. Quiet. There's a faint groan, followed by a soft whimper. "No..."

"Now, now, we've talked about this," the massive form whispers. "Stop fighting me, it won't do you any favors, Zack Ryder. I _will_ break you, I've told you this... You _will_ bring the others to me..." He laughs, backtracking and leaving the room.

Zack groans, his dull, exhausted green eyes opening. "I won't... I- I won't..."


	37. chapter 37

Seth listens to Luke explaining what he knows about their latest mission Betamon standing patiently by his side. Although he's trying to focus, his mind keeps slipping to other matters. Like the fact that it's almost Christmas and Zack Ryder's still missing. He doesn't really care for the man, but he's the leader of the group- CM Punk or no CM Punk, he's stepped up to the plate and done his best for the group around him, but the fact that Zack still hasn't been found is beginning to aggravate him.

Especially when Dolph glares at him in the halls at WWE and he knows it's more than just their professional issues. Dolph holds it against him that Zack hasn't been found yet, and he's starting to hold it against himself as well. He's the leader, he's supposed to be able to figure out these problems, but so far he's failed both the Authority _and_ the Digidestined.

His impatience getting the better of him, he finally stares straight at Luke. "Fine. Are we done now?"

Luke seems far from pleased with his attitude, but agrees. "Fine. We will be waiting for you when you're done."

Seth nods briskly and leads the way to the portal, relieved to be in a different part of Digiworld, away from Luke's prying eyes. He ignores the others as he walks determinedly towards the direction the Digivice map is leading them, gripping it so tightly that his knuckles are white.

The others are wandering around behind him but he barely pays them any mind, looking for a sign of what's going on that would send them here. He glances around, Betamon helping him to keep an eye out.

"Rollins," Dolph has just yelled out from behind him, Seth turning to glare at him when something shifts behind him. He swallows and turns back around, the entire world disappearing around him. "ROLLINS!" Dolph screams, his voice the only thing cutting through the darkness surrounding him, as if someone had turned the suns off. Which, impossible, but yet...

He can hear Betamon's breathing, rapid and shaky next to him, but nothing else. He twists in a circle, confused and scared, when something cold wraps around his midsection and lifts him up. His thrashing is ignored, his yells echoing out into nothing as he feels gravity shifting around him. He can tell Betamon's with him, because he's _not_ as freaked out as he would be otherwise, but this situation is still out there for him.

It feels like he's flying for the longest time, and he stumbles when his feet finally touches ground, the darkness fading away and revealing a gloomy interior that he doesn't recognize. He blinks as the stars fade from his eyes, staring down at where Betamon is standing as expected. "Where are we?" he mumbles.

His partner doesn't say anything, his eyes locked on something before them, and Seth reluctantly turns to look in that direction as well. It's hard to see through the shadows, but he realizes eventually that a creature with the body of a dark skinned female stands before them. Large, tattered wings are what has brought them there but Seth barely notices them, lost in the look on her face. Her eyes are glowing bright red, the only light in the entire room. "Who are you?"

She doesn't say anything, Betamon hissing, "Lady Devimon."

"Of course she is," he mumbles, rubbing his sweaty hands off on his black pants. "Why are we here then? What do you want with us?"

She merely smirks at them, her arms crossed over her chest. He frowns at her, looking around for a moment... when he realizes that he isn't the only human in the gloomy room. He blinks again and finally recognizes the person. "Zack?!"

As he hesitantly approaches the motionless, chained man, Lady Devimon's hoarse, ugly laughter echoes throughout the room. "And then there were two," she says, approaching them with a dark gleam in her eye.

Seth finds himself standing between her and Zack and completely in how to stop her, fix this. "What do we do, Betamon?" he asks. When his partner has no answer either, he grimaces, losing hope in this ending well for them.


	38. chapter 38

Wade knows that it's stupid. He shouldn't wander off, especially now when two of their numbers are missing, but he'd been injured and stuck at home for so long, leaving him jittery and feeling pathetic with each thing happening in this world that he can't resist the urge.

He can still hear Luke's voice in the distance, his fellow Digidestined responding every now and again so he's not worried, certain that, should something happen he'd be able to get away, or be assisted in time. Even so, it doesn't keep him or Lunamon from keeping an eye out, both on edge because of Seth and Zack's mysterious disappearances.

There's little doubt in anybody's minds that the person who took Zack also has Seth, it's just the fact that the Digiworld is _so_ massive, not to mention the Digimon responsible has somehow been able to travel to the real world and cause even more trouble.

He sighs and strokes Lunamon's head thoughtfully as he walks a little further, barely paying attention to his surroundings with all of these thoughts plaguing him. "And here I thought things would be easier upon my return," he tells his partner. "But now instead of deciding which city deserves to witness the return of my numerous talents, this is what I'm stuck pondering."

Lunamon nods into his hand, staring at him with her wide, innocent blue eyes. "I'm scared," she confesses softly, the words causing his heart to seize in his chest as he stares down at her. He would never admit it to anyone else- _maybe_ Heath, with enough drink in him, but she's his partner, and he's quickly grown to trust her explicitly.

"Me too," he murmurs, lifting her off of his shoulder and holding her in his arms like a child would its favorite teddy bear as he walks on. It's only when he realizes that he can't hear Luke anymore that he actually looks around, discovering he's unsure where they're at. Disgust with himself over this oversight, he's about to ask Lunamon where they're at when he hears something overhead and looks up... just to be overwhelmed by a sudden, terrible noise that deafens him, sending him to his knees with the pure force of it.

"Wa-" Lunamon tries to choke out, also unable to focus as a result of the pure pain this unending pressure is causing them. Both collapse, pure darkness greeting them, and neither are aware as a Digimon only a little taller than Lunamon lands by them, sneering.

"My lady will be pleased," the creature hisses, the sound of wings fluttering following this simple statement.

-x

Wade never finds out how much time has passed after that, but when he wakes up, he's surrounded by darkness and peers around, feeling achy and sore. His only comfort is his recently repaired arm feels alright, but- "Lunamon!" he gasps, remembering abruptly that his partner had also been with him before he'd been overwhelmed by a brain-numbing agony that he'd never felt before, not even when he was stabbed in the streets all of those years ago.

"Wade?" she asks quietly, her voice nearby and allowing him to find her in the gloom, pulling her close and holding her against his chest. "Are you ok?"

"My ears are ringing, and I feel strange, but yes. I'm fine. Are you?"

"I think so," she murmurs into his shirt. "I don't know where we are though..."

He's about to respond to that when there's a weary cough from across the room, both of them freezing when they hear shuffling a few feet away. "Bro... Wade, is that you?"

It's Zack. As his vision clears, Wade spots Zack hovering in the corner, holding his injured arm protectively to his side. Another blink and he realizes Seth is next to him, staring suspiciously back at them. "Yes, it's me," he snaps. "You're both alright?"

"If that's what you want to call this," the defacto leader of the group responds just as angrily. "So you got yourself kidnapped too, huh?"

Before Wade can respond, the darkness of the room grows even more pronounced, if that's even possible, Seth and Zack immediately falling silent and still. LadyDevimon enters and leans closer to Wade, smirking at him. "Good job, Pipismon," she offers a rare compliment to the fluttering, bat-like creature by her side whose outline is barely visible. "I appreciate your help, as does Grand Dracumon. If I need anything else, I will alert you."

"And I will come running, my lady," he says smoothly, his wings slowly quieting as he takes his leave of her, not wanting to overstay his welcome.

She continues to smirk down at the men, tapping hers against her thigh. "Now... what to do with you all...?" Her laughter is dark, and shudderworrthy, and it echoes throughout the area, causing Wade's hair to stand up on the back of his neck.

He'd rather be listening to anything else, even Heath singing, right about now...


	39. chapter 39

Miz paces slowly before Luke, staring at the ground. "We've lost Zack, then Seth, now Barrett," he tells him simply, aware that the man is well aware of this but needing to reiterate it, if only for his own mental well-being.

"Yes," Luke says simply, watching him quietly as he goes back and forth.

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Mike demands, too impatient to wait for a quick fix, or some hint to fall into their laps. Splitting up to look isn't working, more of them get taken whenever they try to figure out how to rescue the others...

"I haven't decided yet," Luke answers, aware that this won't make any of them happy. It doesn't make _him_ happy to be honest, but it's the truth. Sure enough, he's barely said that when the rest of the Digidestined, standing behind Mike and waiting to see his imminent explosion, start to whisper amongst themselves.

"Then maybe we should decide," Mike says, his brazenness shining through as Luke stares at him calmly.

"Maybe you should," he says, knowing that he can only guide, direct them so far. If they're to learn, grow stronger as a team, they have to make decisions, mistakes, and everything in between together, without his hand-

His thoughts are disrupted abruptly by an explosion, heat blasting against his body as rocks and dirt rain down upon them, Alicia's sharp scream alerting them as for a moment, the sun is blocked out overhead. The other Digidestined are down, groaning and clearly injured or unconscious. Mike spins around, staring up in shock, when something lands heavily and Luke turns to see what's going on as well, his eys narrowing when he recognizes the Digimon that is now holding a sword out towards Mike. "Move aside," he orders the Digidestined briskly, stepping forward. "Zanbamon," he calls out to the creature who sometimes assists Tankdramon at the virus sector's Digiport. "What are you doing here?"

It's clear immediately that something's off with the rider and his beast, their eyes dull and fixed, but his voice is truly chilling when he finally speaks. "I am here to kill you, Luke," he declares simply, the massive golden horse leaping over Mike and landing before Luke, raining dirt and stones over him as he holds his arm up to protect his face. When he looks again, the sword is pressed against his throat, a sneer on his face. "And I will succeed right here, right now... before your precious Digidestined..."

"I see they've somehow controlled you, Zanbamon, my friend," Luke comments, careful not to move as the sharp blade inches closer to his flesh. "I know you won't hurt me on purpose. I hold no ill-will towards you for whatever action they make you take." His voice is sincere, his eyes calm, and it makes Zanbamon pause.

"I am not controlled! I am finally being true to myself," he roars, though the tremble in his hand is telling. He doesn't even react to the bright glow behind him, everything meaningless to the Mega level Digimon- until, that is, a sharp pain, stinging but there, tears down his spine, leaving him roaring and arching away from it, the sword disappearing from Luke's throat as the evil creature goes berzerk, rounding on Strikedramon as Mike grits his teeth and stares from his partner to the much larger, much stronger Digimon... The others still aren't moving or responding enough to actually be helpful, so he swallows and faces having to handle this Digimon on their own.

"You can do it, Strikedramon!" he calls out, forcing himself to sound like he truly believes it, knowing that his disbelief in his Digimon won't help them at all. He holds out some hope that Strikedramon will land another quick bite, weakening Zanbamon enough that they can overcome the darkness controlling him, something, anything... but Zanbamon moves so quickly that Mike can barely focus on him, unable to do anything but watch as Strikedramon is downed and immediately devolves to a small, blue creature with dark eyes that are filling with tears of pain and fright as Zanbamon's sword hovers over his vulnerable body... "NO!" Mike screams, suddenly understanding how Ricardo had felt when it was Veemon, when there was so little he could do... but Miz has never been the kind to stand on the sidelines, so he races forward and stands between the small blue form and Zanbamon's sword, his arms outstretched as he faces this darkness head on. "You can't kill him," he snaps out. The fact that Digimon can be recreated, restructured, means little to him. The baby Digimon on the ground is his partner, dependent on him in this moment, and he refuses to let him get hurt any worse.

Zanbamon throws his head back, laughing uproariously, before throwing a fist out that strikes Mike hard, sending him flying back where he crashes hard into the ground, barely able to sit back up as Zanbamon starts to swing his sword, about to cleave the young Digimon clean in two.

"NO!" Mike cries out once more, struggling to get to his feet, but... his Digivice beats him to the punch, beginning to vibrate and thrum out of his pocket, a dazzling beam of light blasting past Zanbamon, dazing him, and striking a cliff not that far away, causing the hard dirt comprising it to crack apart, freeing a tablet-shaped item with etching in it. Mike's eyes widen as it approaches him, shrinking until it can fit into the palm of his hand. He had seen Seth's, but this... this is his, he can feel its power, its humbling goodness... HIs head shoots up as another beam of light, the Digivice and the crest acting together, blasts out and engulfs the poor motionless baby digimon's body, causing him to float up in midair as his eyes blink open.

"Chibomon warp-Digivolve to..." He spins super quick, flashing through Monodramon to Strikedramon, then... then to his final form, body lean and muscular with red wings fluttering from his shoulders... a familiar Digimon to Mike, but this one isn't evil. This one is strong, this one is sure, this one... this one is _impressive._ And he knows it too, if his stance is any indication. "Cyberdramon!" he roars out, staring venomously at Zanbamon. "You are fighting, deep inside," he says, his voice gravelly and deep. "I can sense it. I will relieve you of this struggle." His entire body seems to be like light, hard to look at for too long, but Mike manages, still gripping the crest in his hand as his partner crosses his arms over his chest, the familiar attack building there.

"No! Not that simple," Zanbamon cries out, laughing at the futility of this potential action. "You will not-" But his words die away when Cyberdramon is sent backwards with the force of his own blast, which barrels towards Zanbamon, pure light and destructive force and nothing more. "NO! FOCAL BLADE!" He tries, he definitely does, deflecting with his sword, trying everything he can, but the blast tears through his defenses and eats away at his body until disappearing into a gleam of fading light. Zanbamon remains but is unconscious, motionless, and Cyberdramon lands heavily a few feet away.

"He will be fine," the Digimon announces, staring at Luke. "The darkness is gone now."

Luke looks relieved that Zanbamon had been spared, glancing at Mike. "You are the new Digidestined of light," he says, glancing at the crest in Miz's palm. "Congratulations."

"Light," he mutters, staring down at the small crest in his hands. "I don't understand."

"It means you, Mike MIzanin, are going to be our greatest weapon against the darkness threatening to overwhelm our two worlds," Luke tells him simply.

"Oh, is that all?" he mutters, overwhelmed. He's not sure if it's right, if he deserves this particular crest, but Monodramon approaches him with a calm, confident look on his face as he peers at the Digivice. It comforts him, at least a little, to know that, no matter what being the Digidestined of Light might entail, he's not alone in it.


	40. chapter 40

AJ Lee lays in bed, idly kicking her legs back and forth in midair. She'd been recovering from a neck injury the past few weeks, keeping her from the Digiworld, despite all of the bad things that are currently happening. Zack Ryder's disappearance had only been the first, and he had been taken _while_ in the real world, no less. Leaves them all understandably a little nervous and watchful, not feeling safe anywhere that they're at, but she had focused on rehab, wanting nothing more than to return to WWE as quickly as possible and win back her divas title. She sighs and rolls over, swatting at the tip of Renamon's tail that's just visible from where she's laying, smirking when the Digimon immediately draws her tail in and holds it away from AJ's teasing fingers.

It's a sleepy Sunday afternoon, the world lost in football and the Golden Globes, neither of which interest either of them so they're perfectly content staying where they're at, AJ alternating between dozing and trying the neck exercises recommended to her while Renamon guards over her, refusing to stay in the Digivice just in case what happened to Zack should repeat itself. AJ must fall into a hard sleep eventually because when she opens her eyes, the room is dark, quiet. Cold. She shivers and rolls over, wondering if Renamon had opened a window for some reason... when she screams and lunges back, hitting the wall and staring on in terror as a skittering grey creature with legs similar to an insect's approaches her, narrowed red eyes locked on her.

Her symbol of sorts _is_ a spider but this is something on a whole different level, the evil coming from this thing enough to leave her speechless and numb in terror. Before her eyes, it seems to absorb something, glowing brightly as it Digivolves into a biped creature with bright pink skin and terrifying red pinchers. "No, no, no," she all but cries, wishing that she had kept in contact with the other Digidestined more- had actually _cared_... but it's too late for it now as the Digimon lifts her from the bed and sneers down at her. She's looking all over for Renamon but she can't even sense her partner, much less spot her. "No, no, help," she pleads weakly, scrabbling and scratching at the Digimon's hide, but failing to free herself as he grips her tighter and jumps out of the window, which she realizes now _is_ open.

They free fall for awhile before he Digivolves again in midair, because stronger and larger, but her eyes are watering in the mad rush of wind in her face and she can't determine any features of the new beast holding onto her, except that his fingers are brutal and prodding into her midsection so hard that she can barely breathe. She struggles for only a few moments longer before falling limp, the darkness a blessed reprieve to the stressed girl.

-x

"AJ! AJ?" It hadn't gone undetected this time. Luke had been monitoring them from the Digiworld, care and watching, determined not to lose another of them the same way Zack had been, but... They're too late. Dolph curses violently as he slaps a hand against the door frame of AJ's apartment, his week going from bad to worse. First he'd been fired, which leaves his future as a Digidestined in question, and now... now they'd lost another of them. "We took too long," he snaps at Miz.

"It couldn't be helped, we couldn't get across the country without taking a short cut, now could we?" he snaps back, Monodramon trying to sooth him. They had to go to the Digiworld and then use a portal there to arrive in New Jersey, the two of them being the only ones able to take the trip as they'd been the closest to each other thanks to Dolph's stand up dates after his firing. Everyone being scattered between indy dates, or injured, or still missing had made it hard to get enough of them together to form a portal in time.

They're about to leave in disgust and fear of who might be next when Mike hears a soft sound. Stopping, he leans down and peeks under AJ's bed, tilting his head. "Hey, c'mere, little one..." He leans in and scoops something up off of the floor and when Dolph can see what's in his arms fully, it's clearly Renamon's Devolution, a small puff of golden fur and tear-filled blue eyes. Her age eliminating a lot of her cool composure as Renamon, the baby Digimon wails out AJ's name as she buries herself in Mike's chest, Monodramon, Impmon and both men looking awkward. He composes himself quickly, however, rubbing a hand down her soft fur. "Tsk, it's ok," he murmurs. "What's your name, huh?"

"Viximon," she finally stops crying long enough to answer, though she immediately dissolves back into full-body wracking sobs that shake him as well.

"Don't worry, Viximon," Dolph tells her. "We'll find AJ, I promise." This doesn't seem to help her inner turmoil.

-x

AJ stirs, finding herself once more in darkness... and held by something warm, steady. She moans out Renamon's name, struggling to sit up, but arms hold her down and she thrashes harder, catching something soft. The decidedly _human_ gasp that follows makes her stop abruptly, as does the loud "Are you serious, bro!?" that breaks through her fugue.

"Zack?" she hisses, her vision clearing slightly, allowing her to look around at Wade, Zack and Seth in the shadowy gloom, who are all staring at her with varying emotions on their face. "You're all here!"

"Yeah, lucky us," Zack grouses, rubbing where she'd smacked him. "Add another week to my recovery, at least... whenever we get out of this mess."

"Stop your whining, Ryder," Seth tells him, sitting across from AJ. "Well, they officially have half of us now. Fantastic."

They all fall silent, pondering this, when AJ sucks in a deep breath, relieved to see that her neck feels no worse than it did before. "What do we do now?"

The clueless silence that follows is of no comfort to any of them.


	41. chapter 41

With Seth, AJ, Wade and Zack all missing, things seem even more impossible for the group of Digidestined. Their numbers had already been dwindling due to releases and injuries, and now... now. Dolph closes his eyes and buries his knuckles into his eyes, wondering how Zack's doing, if this is hindering his recovery. Shaking his head almost violently, he forces himself to think about something, _anything_ else. Impmon is quiet by his side, also feeling the tension as Luke paces before them, lost in thought. He had no idea what to do, or where to even begin in attempting to regain their friends, and it had added to the general frustration as he had been considered as the go-to for all things involving the Digiworld.

Patamon suddenly whimpers from where he's sitting on Dolph's shoulder and he automatically reaches out and pets the little guy's forehead, like Zack used to. When the Digimon calms, Dolph turns his focus back onto Luke. "What are we going to do? Or are you just going to continue going in circles? We need a plan. _Now._ " He'd lost his job, he'd lost his title. He was lucky just to be here at all. He wasn't about to lose one of his best friends on top of everything else. _I'll get him back, somehow. I miss his obnoxious grin... and even his stupid WOO WOO WOOs..._ Forcing himself to listen to Luke, he digs his hands in his pockets, trying to forestall his anxiety.

"I'd suggest, if you all insist on going to search for your teammates, you don't split up this time. We're not sure how many Digimon are involved in this, but it appears as if there are multiple responsible, and I don't want to lose any more of you. Be viligant and careful," he advises them.

Dolph's just opened his mouth to respond when there's a loud squeech overhead and a shadow flies over them, all of them immediately on alert and scanning the sky for the culprit, Luke's words fresh in their minds. They all stand in tense anticipation when another squeech is heard and the creature swoops down lower, a blue mechanical looking body visible before disappearing again. Impmon shifts next to Dolph, but he makes no move to encourage Digivolution or anything else, expecting a third appearance of the Digimon and-

It happens, the creature going so low this time that his hair is ruffled, but it quickly turns back around and aims an attack at them, a heavy mallet type weapon coming out of its tail before impacting basically at Dolph's feet and sending them all flying back a few feet, the force of a minor earthquakre rattling through Luke's home due to the pure power of the strike. "After him!" Dolph says, having a suspicious feeling about the creature. He's a fast flyer but even after they take the time to Digivolve their partners to follow easier, he's still in sight and remains so as they chase him through plains and by an ocean, finally cornering him by some tunnels leading into caves.

He stares at them, eyes dark and piercing, before issuing a bland, monotone kind of laugh, abruptly flying upwards and away. Dolph glares upwards, pointing after him. "Catch him, Wizardmon!" he orders, angry at whatever this Digimon is playing at. But before Wizardmon can say or do anything, Patamon stirs from his precarious balance on Dolph's shoulder, bright blue eyes blinking open. "Patamon?"

He sits up and stares blankly ahead at the cave for a few moments before fluttering forward, avoiding Dolph's attempts at reclaiming him with what seems like a sort of sixth sense. He's only a few feet away from the cave when Dolph hears footsteps, glancing over at the dazed Digidestined. It's only then that he realizes- Viximon too is free, Miz looking stupefied as the small creature follows Patamon's path from the ground. Alicia lets out a faint gasp and Heath mumbles something to himself when the shadows from the cave darken, the forms of their missing friends appearing in the sunlight, Betamon and Lunamon reuniting with the other two Digimon as they stand side by side with their partners.

Ziggler gingerly steps forward, looking the missing four people up and down desperately. It had been so long since he'd seen Zack that it almost hurts, especially now that his best friend is barely registering his presence. His worry eases- Zack is standing before him, whole and alive and healthy, which considering the appearance of his bedroom after he'd been taken, the window pulled out and everything trashed, Dolph wasn't sure what shape Zack would be in when he'd next see him- then returns full force when he realizes just how dark Zack's gaze is, no recognition in his eyes. "Zack? Kid?" he ventures.

There's still nothing, no response, no _life_ in that usually goofy face. He swallows hard, wondering what happened to him, when he glances at the others and sees similar expressions on Wade, AJ and Seth's faces. It's only when their _Digimon_ turn towards them, their eyes slowly deadening to match their human partners', that he realizes just how much trouble they're really in. "Oh, hell," he breathes.


	42. chapter 42

_He can feel it creeping around inside of him, this darkness. Overwhelming his thoughts, his mind, his body. He can't move, he can't breathe, he can't do anything without the creature inside monitoring everything. How it'd taken him over so quickly, so thoroughly, he has no idea, but there had been no fighting it off from the moment it'd happened. Especially since he'd been asleep when he first noticed it, this lack of control of his own body. He feels sick inside, wanting nothing more than to break free, fight off whatever's holding onto him, but he can't._

_The first time he feels light on his face since all of this happened, he feels even worse. His senses are still his own, hearing and sight, smell, touch and taste so what_ it _experiences, he experiences as well, so when his eyes are opened and he can see, his stomach drops. Dolph, Miz, Alicia and Heath are_ right _there, staring at him like he's a stranger, and then Dolph is approaching, a fearful look on his usually cocky face and dammit, it hurts more than most anything Zack's ever experienced, even when he'd first injured his arm._

_Zack can tell Dolph knows just by looking at him, at the others next to him. He doesn't even need to see them to know they too are being controlled, trapped in this murky world where everything seems distant, faded. His chest feels so tight, he's not sure he can breathe normally but the thing inside of him seems to have that under control even as Patamon approaches, the darkness seeping from him into his partner despite his desperate internal war to keep it from happening. It's as if his struggles are nothing, meaningless... He's never hated himself more as Patamon lands on his head, as if things are normal, but they're not... far from it._

_As the four of them face off with the four untainted Digidestined, he tries to gain enough control to do something,_ say _something, one last word to try to make this all ok for the others, but he can't even shift a finger... forced to watch as Patamon and the other three Digivolve, Darcmon, Kyubimon, Gatomon and MegaSeadramon soon standing between them all. But whereas before, when they'd been vibrant and energetic, they now look dull and menacing. He doesn't even recognize his own partner, Darcmon's appearance making it seem as if all of the goodness in the world had been destroyed in one go._

"Kid," Dolph attempts, "Kid. I'm not sure what's going on, but we're here, ok? We'll figure something out... you're going to be ok." He glances towards the other three and grimaces. "All of you are going to be ok."

_Zack wants so badly to yell at him to get back, their four Digimon leering at him even as he takes a couple steps closer. When his mouth opens, he's terrified at the voice that comes from his lips, dark and evil, looking to cause pain._ "Who asked you, Digidestined? You're not needed nor welcome here. Leave and perhaps we will spare your miserable existence for a short while."

Dolph freezes for a moment, as if finally registering the Digimon surrounding him, but doesn't let it dissuade him from staring at Zack. "I know you're in there, kid. Just hang on, we'll figure something out... we'll get you out of this. I know it took us too long to find you, every time I thought there was a chance, another one of us were abducted, and it made it harder to find you all, but we finally have, so-"

"Shut up," that voice says, not sounding angry or annoying. _Zack grows more fearful the less reactive the_ thing _inside of him remains, aware that the calmer someone is, the more dangerous they tend to be. Wishes again that he could warn Dolph,_ do _something._ "He doesn't want out of this life... he welcomed it, actually. Welcomed me... because he was tired of being known as a joke, being mocked constantly. It is unfortunate that you weren't here to witness how eager he was to be taken over by this pure darkness..." _Zack's hand rubs almost obscenely against his chest and he feels like he's about to be sick..._

"I don't believe you," Dolph says steadfastly, stepping closer. "The state you left his apartment in, for one thing. If he had _wanted_ this, you wouldn't have had to tear things to shreds like that..."

_The evilness inside of Zack laughs, causing him to shiver as he's forced to step closer to Dolph. The two of them are soon so close that Zack can see the turmoil in Dolph's eyes, which makes him feel even worse._ "I would advise you to either leave, or assist those weaklings you call Digimon to Digivolve so we can get on with this."

Dolph hesitates and looks over his shoulder at Impmon and the rest, taking a deep breath. He then turns to face Zack once more, staring deep into his eyes. "We'll get you out of this, kid. I promise. Just hang on a little longer."

_Zack feels a stirring of the darkness inside of him, as if it'd been angered finally, but it quickly calms and stares at Darcmon._ "Go."

Not even waiting for the others to regroup and Digivolve, the four dark Digimon race forward, preparing attacks. _All Zack can do is watch, helpless and hopeless._


	43. chapter 43

Alicia can only stand and watch blankly, confused and in fear of their teammates- their _friends_ \- being held captive by this force, this darkness. Miz, however, moves before any of them can even make sense of it. Holds his Digivice out and stares at Monodramon. "Go!" he yells, making her jump. Monodramon dives into the warm beam of light before Digivolving, first to Strikedramon, then the more menacing form of Cyberdramon. This gives them time, the opportunity to grab their own Digivices and aim them at their partners. Impmon becomes Wizardmon, and Lopmon grows into Moosemon.

Alicia takes a breath, her eyes on AJ as she directs Palmon into Digivolving, relieved to see the more tenacious form of Kiwimon rushing around to join the battle. "Please be alright," she murmurs in general to the entire battlefield.

It's intense from the very moment that the light of Digivolution dies away. Cyberdramon flies forward, gripping MegaSeadramon around the neck and deflecting a blast the sea creature had been about to send out at the Digidestined clustered around, watching on in terror. Alicia's lips are painfully dry as Kiwimon races towards Kyubimon, the fox Digimon blinking lazily at her until she's close enough, then whipping her away with balls of flame as if she's nothing. Alicia's struggling to find a way to her partner, try to help, when Moosemon lets loose a strange bellow, her body twisting as she gapes- Gatomon is racing all around the larger Digimon's body, keeping out of range of his hooves and any possible attempts at attacks when she finally reaches his face, leaning over until they're eye to eye.

"No!" Heath yells, as if sensing what's about to happen when the air around Moosemon shimmers, waves of some sort of energy leaving Gatomon's wide blue eyes as she bores into Moosemon's.

Moosemon's head twists at the sound of Heath's voice but it's too late when Gatomon takes control and he turns on himself, slashing and ripping at his own flank with his antlers.

"Stop it! Stop, Moosemon, you're gonna-" Heath races forward and leaps, grabbing his partner around the neck, trying to subdue him... just to look up to find Gatomon gazing at him, a pleased smirk on her usually docile face. "Aw crap," he only manages to spit out when Gatomon claws him hard across the face, causing him to yell out in agony.

"Heath!" Alicia cries out, but she has her own problems as Kiwimon goes flying past her, a blur of feathers and flame. "No! Kiwimon!" She races towards her partner, unable to keep track of everything going on around them as she tries to beat out the burning feathers and flesh, not minding as charred remains of her black cape floats off into the air. She thinks Kiwimon will be alright, if a little burnt, when a shadow falls over them. She looks up, her breath seizing in her throat, when she realizes that Kyubimon is standing over them, a cold look in her eyes. "Please no," she pleads, aware that it won't matter at all to the Digimon. "Please..."

No one is able to help her, Dolph stuck watching as Darcmon and Wizardmon face off, each attempt that Wizardmon makes being deflected or just plain ignored thanks to Darcmon's swords. She dances gracefully, spinning around him and striking him with so many swords that Dolph can't keep track of them, his partner growing weaker with each blow. Overwhelmed by having his best friend only feet before him for the first time in weeks, but being painfully aware that it's _not_ really Zack, mixed in with the agony his partner is suffering, finally collapsing to a knee after a particularly vicious sword strike to his spine that rattles him from head to toe, Dolph shakes his head, tears filling his eyes for the first time in ages. "Zack, stop this!" he pleads, deciding to take the chance. "Please, kid!" Ignoring everything going on around them, he walks closer to Zack. "Please..."

"What the hell do you think you're doing? I know you're reckless, but do you really have this much of a death wish?" Zack laughs darkly, watching as Dolph walks straight past the fighting Digimon and heads towards him. "I'm going to kill you myself if you take another step," he warns him, licking his lips as if thirsty for blood when Dolph ignores the threat, only stopping once he reaches him. "Well, Zigman, what are you going to do now that you're here?"

It's clear that he expects punches, kicks, or any other kind of attack, but what Dolph does shocks him more than anything else ever could, shaking him to his core. He hugs him tightly, fingers buried in Zack's hair, as if Darcmon isn't currently killing Wizardmon behind them, as if Zack can feel, can see, can hear him. "I'm so sorry it took me so long to find you, kid. Please forgive me..."

Miz stares across the battlefield at Seth, watching MegaSeadramon and Cyberdramon battle back and forth. MegaSeadramon is clearly out for a taste of Cyberdramon's data, leaving him at a distinct disadvantage because none of them want to destroy the tainted Digimon, though they're not sure how to bring them back to the side of light. His hand is tense against his Digivice as Cyberdramon uses his weaker attack, a claw that's extended twice the length of the others, using it to try to slice his way through MegaSeadramon's meaty body, if only to slow him down. It's not seeming to have much affect as the agile sea creature keeps alternating between shooting blinding blasts of lightning or frigid ice beams, that risk cracking Cyberdramon into pieces should the combination land on his armored body.

Seth is laughing and enjoying every moment of it while Mike feels like everything is slipping through his fingers- his partner, the other Digidestined, how good it had felt to do something good to save the world... in one fell swoop, he has no doubt, they're all going to die here at each other's hands, and _oh God,_ it hurts as if he's the one getting hit with lightning and ice. He's close to slumping in defeat, Cyberdramon unable to land the decisive strike needed to take MegaSeadramon down, when he spots the tag hanging around Seth's neck. Despite resembling his own in shape, it's pure black, releasing a kind of dark power that makes Mike feel ill. He's just touched the tag that's around his neck when...

_"...greatest weapon against the darkness threatening to overwhelm our two worlds."_ Luke's comment returns to him and he gapes down at the vibrant tag so different from Seth's when it dawns on him, his fingers scrambling as he pulls his tag from around his neck. "I know what we have to do," he declares quietly. "I _know._ SETH!" he screams, causing the former Shield member's head to tilt as he looks at him curiously, his focus on the battling Digimon now lost. "You and I have never been friends," he tells him. "But I'm not letting you remain trapped by this darkness. I will save you, I will help save all of you!"

Seth hears him out. Stares at him for a moment, then resumes laughing dementedly.


	44. chapter 44

Heath is staring up at the blue sky overhead, his face throbbing, as the gory sounds of Moosemon tearing at himself continues on and on and on, tears dripping down the ginger's face and making his injuries itch and burn. "Dammit," he breathes. "Moosemon, please, stop." Struggling, he sits up and inches towards his partner, ignoring any chance of Gatomon getting a second shot against him even as blood drips down his chin and stains his shirt, the ground, everything.

He's almost at Moosemon's side when Miz calls out over the battlefield, distracting him. He squints over at the Most Must See Superstar, watching as he walks resolutely over to Seth, ignoring everything going on around them. Heath can't focus, can barely see through the gash mark down his face so he turns his attention back to Moosemon, dragging himself back to his feet and trying once more to wrap his trembling arms around the Digimon and stop him from hurting himself further, a distressing amount of his data scattered on the ground.

He's just touched his flank when Wade appears out of nowhere and _flicks_ Heath in the face, causing him to cry out as fresh waves of agony courses through his system, sending him flailing away from his partner yet again. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news," Wade tells him coldly. "Your partner is going to delete itself momentarily and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Heath sobs bitterly and scrambles through the dirt, gripping Wade's pant legs as he tries again to get to his feet, succeeding at little more than to get to his knees. "Wade, please," he mumbles. "Fight this, _help_ me... We useta be friends, remember?" He stares up at him beseechingly. "One hundred percent support and all'a that?" Wade's sneer doesn't lose any of its ugliness, Heath shivering as his last hope disappears.

Not far away, Dolph is still holding onto Zack, desperately hoping that this will fix things, when he hears Wizardmon scream out in fresh agony. He buries himself into his best friend, horrified at the sound and not wanting to see, but knowing that he has to, so he reluctantly pulls away from Zack and turns to stare as Darcmon's sword lances through Wizardmon's shoulder, tattering his clothes even worse and scattering data every which way.

He's agape when something rough digs into his ribs, the sharp ridges of Zack's Digivice imprinting in his flesh. "Let me take that guilt and pain away from you... Join the party, bro," he says darkly, black energy streaming out of the Digivice and cocooning Dolph from head to toe, almost immediately eating away at his sanity, his innate goodness that he pretends away with his HEEL act.

"DOLPH!" Wizardmon screams out through his own torture, trying to fight off Darcmon to rescue his partner. "No! Stop!" As the darkness begins to win, he glitches and shorts out, his body slowly turning grey. "No..."

Alicia listens to all of the screams, unable to look away from Kyubimon as she approaches her and Kiwimon, a hungry look in her eyes as her flames burn hotter. "Stop this, please," she pleads with the fox Digimon. "AJ, we were close friends, please- fight this! I know you, you would never-"

"I would never what?" the former diva's champion demands, standing over her. "Do what I want? Fight for more power, strength, influence? Yes, I would, and you know this better than most... Kyubimon, you know what to do."

Fresh flames begin to lick towards Kiwimon and Alicia, her scream joining in with all of the others.

Miz stands tall, stares at Seth. It's a risk, something that could get them all killed, but he knows he has to try as Cyberdramon and MegaSeadramon continue to war behind them. Seth's ugly laughter echoing in his mind, he walks closer and only stops when they're nose to nose, Seth's laughter eventually fading as he glares at Mike. Before Seth can say anything, Mike reaches out and grips his wrist, digging his nails into it tightly. Seth's voice drowned out by the rushing in Mike's ears, he only observes the man's determination to free himself, tugging back as hard as he can but failing at breaking Mike's hold on him. "You may be the Digidestined of Darkness right now," he tells him lowly, barely able to hear himself, "but I know what darkness' weakness is..." He lifts his Digivice and crest up and Seth abruptly cowers, shaking his head desperately.

When Mike presses the two items to Seth's chest, feeling them immediately react to the evil energy swirling within him, he doesn't expect the chain reaction it brings about- suddenly he can hear, Seth's desperate, throat-shredding screams stabbing through his eardrums like knives. At the same time, Zack's hands fall away from Dolph, AJ twists around to stare, and Wade looks up from Heath, all eyes on Mike and Seth as the pure energy of the Digivice shatters the darkness' control on him, data pouring out of Seth's body and scattering against the ground before reforming into a tall, thick Digimon with two beasts' heads on either side of his body, a truly demonic appearance only able to be held by one Digimon: Grand Dracumon.

Almost simultaneously, blinding white light pours from Alicia, Dolph and Heath's Digivices, freeing Dolph in a volley of raining data that makes Zack yell out in anger before it impacts with him, sending him down to one knee as he struggles to fight it, his fingers clenching against his shirt collar. AJ stumbles back upon getting struck as well, her hair whipping around from the pure force as Alicia struggles not to drop her Digivice, shaking so hard that she can barely stand, much less anything else. Heath is breathing heavily as Wade is engulfed in light from _his,_ still gripping him as he tries to keep himself together. The three of them go through the same thing Seth had, the dark form of Lady Devimon getting ejected from AJ's body, Pipismon reforming at Zack's feet, and Arkadimon flying behind where Heath and Wade are crouched.

Heath is frozen as he clings to Wade, glancing over his shoulder at the monsterous creature with orange claws awkwardly getting up to his feet and clicking his fingers together, clearly preparing to attack as soon as he's fully oriented to the world he now finds himself in. "Crap," the ginger mumbles, too tired to drag Wade away to safety, stuck here, watching as Arkadimon holds his hand out towards them, claws extending... when everything stops. A horrible yell echoes down from the heavens, causing the four evil Digimon to freeze and clutch their ears in turmoil. Despite the volume, it does nothing to harm the Digidestined or their recovering partners, so they watch, stupefied but relieved, as all four Digimon abruptly explode in a sea of data that drift then fade, their evilness going with it.

Heath swallows hard, glancing over at Moosemon as he collapses, then dedigivolves back to an exhausted Lopmon, a fretful Gatomon, now free of all darkness, hovering over him. "Ha," he wheezes as Wade kneels down next to him, terror in his now clear blue eyes as he reaches out for Heath's face. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Wade looks stricken, his hands immediately retreating, and Heath smiles wearily. "Hurts like a bitch already without you pokin' and proddin'... I'm glad you're back to normal, and yeah, I won't complain _too_ much about this even if it scars since it moved everything along."

Wade releases a bitter laugh, squeezing Heath's neck as he examines him. "Oh please, you'll be moaning as soon as we're back on earth to get attention from all of the divas..."

Heath grins a little, releasing a breath. "I missed ya, Brit." Wade would never verbalize it, but when he tugs Heath closer and hugs him, Heath knows it's his way of returning the sentiment. Once they pull away and look around, it's clear the others are still regrouping too, Dolph rubbing Zack's back as he struggles to breathe normally, Miz supporting Seth as they walk side by side back to the others, Alicia squeezing AJ's hand as she shakes and cries into her hands.

Heath sucks in a deep breath and touches his face, uncomfortable with the thought that some scars invisible to the naked eye will more than likely have longer lasting impact than any of the superficial ones they all will walk away with after this. Wade must notice because, as he's helping Heath to his feet, he locks eyes with him and forces a tired, pained smile. "We'll be alright, Heath. Come on, let's go join the others so we can go home."

Despite it all, Heath believes him.


	45. chapter 45

Dolph paces around Zack's apartment, tugging fruitlessly at his hair. Everything with the evil Digimon possessing their friends still weighing fresh on everyone's minds, they'd all been relieved for a break from it all, but now... now, the Digivices are lit up with the telltale summons from Luke and it takes everything in Dolph not to scoop his and Zack's up and throw them out of a window. But unfortunately, the terror of almost losing Zack, Wade, Seth and AJ had also drove it home just how bad things could get in the Digiworld at a moment's notice. He taps his fingers against the surface of his Digivice, Zack's sitting next to him and vibrating relentlessly.

He sighs and collects both devices before venturing into Zack's bedroom, staring down at him as he sleeps on, loosely hugging Patamon to him. Hating himself for having to do this, he rests a hand on Zack's shoulder and lightly shakes him awake. "Kid, time to get up," he murmurs. "Luke needs us."

Those words alone are enough to bring fear to Zack's sleepy eyes but he sits up and rubs Patamon's furry forehead until he stirs, wide blue eyes peering up into Zack's. "We gotta get to the Digiworld, Patamon." Struggling to his feet, Zack allows Dolph to lead them out to the computer, a Digiport forming as soon as they hold their Digivices up to the screen. The two of them not giving enough strength to the portal to get them to the Digiworld, it's enough to get them to where the others are touring in Florida, so that all of them can travel as a group to figure out what Luke wants.

When they finally arrive, he greets them, looking somber. "I wished to give you all a little more time to regroup, but this is critical and I can't wait any longer. An entire village is being held captive, a strange electric field force surrounding it. No one can enter, no one can exit. The Digimon inside are panicking, as you can imagine. Food is scarce, things are getting desperate." He motions towards their Digivices and watches as the maps light up on the screens, pinpointing where they're to go. "Thank you for coming here so quickly."

Dolph looks around at the others, none of whom look thrilled to be thrown back into the deep end this soon after getting freed from the darkness. He knows Zack is still recovering and AJ, Seth nor Wade look much better, leaving the rest of them to pick up the slack and keep them safe. But there's nothing to be done for it, especially since they're already here, so he keeps his thoughts to himself as they follow Seth to the portal that will take them to the Vaccine zone. As soon as they arrive, Dolph steps towards Seth before turning to face the others. "I think, to ensure we're all as safe as we can be, we should Digivolve our partners now."

It's a good plan, and it's agreed upon, as the others tug their Digivices out of their pockets. The light and pure power of so many Digivolutions happening at once leaves Dolph a little overwhelmed, dizzy almost, but once everything is calm again, he blinks and looks around, feeling calmer in the presence of so many large creatures. Even Wade had opted to Digivolve Lunamon into Nefertimon, to ensure that the smaller form of Gatomon wouldn't be lost in the melee. This also gives the majority of them the opportunity to travel on their partners' backs, only him, Zack and Alicia unable to as Wizardmon nor Darcmon could easily carry the wrestlers, and Kiwimon isn't large enough for such things. He's pondering how best to rectify _this_ when-

"Hey, guys, climb on up," Heath's heavily accented drawl calls out to them and they all look up to find Mammothmon's huge body kneeling down so they can get a good handhold. Dolph laughs and shakes his head, deciding then and there to let Heath have a free pass despite his terrible choice in haircuts, pushing Zack towards the furry beast. He stays on the ground until he's sure the broski is safely up, Heath catching his hand and pulling him up the rest of the way, before climbing as well. Thankfully Mammothmon is huge enough to hold himself, Wizardmon, Zack, Darcmon, Alicia, Kiwimon and Heath, because otherwise Dolph's not sure what they would've done.

Considering his size, he's actually very quick and only lumbers a little behind the others, the group of them making good time to where the blip on their maps indicate. It's just as Luke had explained, a sheen of electricity gleaming around a village of homes. There's no way in or out and various Digimon are circling what had once been the exit, desperation and hunger in their eyes. Dolph swallows as hundreds of eyes lock on them, pleading and hoping for rescue... Mammothmon puts his trunk down on the ground, Heath whooping as he takes the quick way down, using it like a slide until he lands in the dirt, laughing. "C'mon, guys, it's fun!"

Zack looks pensive but he goes ahead, gasping until he hits the bottom, Heath helping him find his footing as Alicia attempts it, squealing the entire way down. Dolph goes next, unsurprised that, when they take their turns, Wizardmon, Darcmon and Kiwimon make their way down much more gracefully than their partners had. "You are ridiculous," he tells Heath with no malice, wrapping an arm around Zack's shoulders before they turn to face the village, all glee leaving them as they face what's going on for real.

It's terrible, and there appears to be no way through the arching electricity coating the entirety of the land. "What do we do?" Zack mumbles, biting his lip as he tries to think of _something._ Some way to help.

Cyberdramon quickly grows bored of sitting around waiting for a brainstorm and slices forward, his claws scraping against the barrier. His hard armor isn't impacted by the strong electricity but his claws do nothing but make a hidden nails-on-chalkboard sound that send the others cringing away in pain, their ears ringing once he finally gives up on that being a feasible option. Mammothmon is next, trying to rend the shield in two with his tusks, but only succeeds in literally banging his head against the wall ceaselessly until Heath yells at him.

Wizardmon and Darcmon move as one, Darcmon slicing nonstop with her swords as Wizardmon lifts his arms up and beckons towards the sky above. "Thunder Cloud!" he calls out, slamming his arms down as lightning blasts down and strikes in the same direction as Darcmon's swords, the shield beginning to crack in the places where Cyberdramon, Mammothmon, and Darcmon had struck it. Just as the Digidestined are holding their breath, certain that this is it, it'll break apart and free the poor creatures inside, there's a monsterous roar overhead and something lands heavily, knocking Darcmon and Wizardmon both over and ending their rampage against the barrier.

"Fools! I will not allow you to harm them!" a horned creature, whose entire body is coated in metal armor, screams, electricity streaming from every inch of his body. "This is the only way to keep the village safe, I will not allow you to ruin my efforts!" He goes berzerk, swiping out with a rapidly expanding arm that slams into all of them with a bone-rattling punch that winds Dolph before moving on, striking each Digidestined and Digimon as if knocking down bowling pins.

Forcing a sharp, painful breath out of his lungs, Dolph fights up to his feet and stares up at the Digimon, stumbling towards Zack. The others are stirring, but the broski is painfully still and fear wells up in Dolph, leaving him ill and clammy as he collapses to his knees and crawls the rest of the way to Zack's side, trying to shield him from whatever else this creature might be thinking in its deluded state. "No," he grunts, gripping his Digivice with his free hand. "You're not going to hurt anyone else. I won't let you."

"Atlur Ballistamon, please stop!" one of the Digimon in the village cries out, voice barely audible over the force field. "The only thing we're in danger of is starving in here, free us!"

Turning, he sneers at her, shaking his head. "Sparrowmon, I have protected you all your entire lives... you know nothing of true danger, of what I must protect you all from! I will not stop!"

"But you're killing us," she responds, tears dripping down her face. "Please-" Her words are quieted when a sharp streak of electricity blasts close to her, sending her skittering away in terror. "Atlur Ballistamon, what happened to you?!"

But Dolph can't focus on her, or anything else, as Atlur Ballistamon rounds once more upon them, staring down at him challengingly. "You were saying?" he wonders, electricity pulsing throughout his body.

Dolph can do nothing but watch, eyes wide in horror, as he punches out, lightning still cycling around his fist as it approaches them. It's going to hit him, yes, but worse, it's going to electrocute Zack as well, there's nothing he can actually do to spare the weakened man, his attempts at protecting him failing. "NO!" he yells. This causes a chain reaction, the Digivice in his hand abruptly exploding with powerful light as the ground rattles, his failing determination to rescue Zack re-igniting when something shoots up and towards him, forming a crest like what Seth, Heath and Miz have, floating into his hand. He gapes at it before looking up, Wizardmon engulfed in this brilliant energy. He's never felt stronger.

"Wizardmon Digivolve to..." His form fading away, the Digimon disappears entirely, leaving nothing but a large book behind. Dolph blinks in confusion as Atlur Ballistamon laughs mockingly, about to finish what he had started by slamming his electrified fist through both Dolph and Zack, when the book slams open, bright light pouring out of it. "Wisemon!" The creature is tall, mysterious. A red robe covers him from head to toe, and a white shroud covers his face. Outside of pale wings poking out of his back and dark hands that seem to be controlling two constantly rotating round stones- one red, one yellow- there are no other distinguishing signs to recognize him by. His face is shrouded, two golden eyes locked on Atlur Ballistamon as he hovers over the parted pages of the book.

Dolph's not sure what to think about this new form of his partner, but their eyes lock and something inside of him eases. He trusts the tall creature with everything in him, turning his attention to Zack. "Hey, kid, open your eyes," he mutters, pushing him lightly. "You don't want to miss seeing Wisemon, huh?" There's no response and he swallows, looking back up as Wisemon seems unworried, sidestepping one of Atlur Ballistamon's fists, the book moving with him as if they're one.

"Pandora Dialogue," he says, even his voice sounding smooth, hard to grasp. Red letters on the book suddenly lift off of the page and swirls around Wisemon for a moment, as if absorbing power from him, before racing towards Atlur Ballistamon. Undisturbed by his electricity, the attack slices through his armor, causing him to yell out in indescribeable agony. Wisemon tilts his head, watching him as he collapses to his knees, scratching at his body desperately. Wisemon lifts his hands, the stones following his movements, and time seems to be rewinding- Atlur Ballistamon quiets abruptly as the barrier shorts out, then fails completely, freeing the villagers as they stream out, desperate for food and trampling towards fruit trees just visible in the distance.

"No, no!" Atlur Ballistamon cries. "Please, you'll be safe inside, go back! Go back!"

Dolph watches in perplexed sympathy, glancing down at Zack as he slowly, finally stirs. He thinks he knows now, that everything going on in the world had caused Atlur Ballistamon's data to be fragmented, corrupted by his paranoia and uncertainty about his ability to protect the village. "Wisemon," he calls out, the first words he's speaking to his partner in this form. "Finish this."

Pandora Dialogue, this time, wraps around Atlur Ballistamon, seeping into his body, and the guardian Digimon watches, tears dripping down his face as his strength fails, the electricity cycling around him weakening before disappearing entirely. "No," he whispers, his mission a lost cause now.

Sparrowmon, however, hesitantly flies back over to them, landing close to Atlur Ballistamon as his data begins to fade away. "We're going to be ok until you're reborn," she tells him confidentally. "You've taken good care of us up until now... and we will be waiting for you when you're restructured. Please be ok."

He swallows hard, gaze clearing as he stares down at her. "I'm so sorry," is all he manages to say before he's gone entirely, leaving nothing but a few teardrops to soak the ground at her feet.

Dolph grunts as he painfully sits up, leaving a hand on Zack's back as he slowly breathes in and out, looking around. "C'mon, kid," he whispers, gripping Zack under the arms and pulling him up. He looks dazed, groggy, but their eyes lock as soon as he's sitting up and Dolph smiles. "'Bout time, kid. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was suckerpunched, bro," he grumbles, leaning against Dolph. "What happened?"

"Pretty much that," he sighs, staring down at his new crest. "Look, kid."

Zack squints at it. "A crest, bro? What's the symbol of?"

"I'm not sure," Dolph murmurs, though he knows that's wrong. He knows exactly what it is, had known from the moment that Atlur Ballistamon had been targetting Zack. "I think it's friendship though."

Zack looks up at him, lips twitching up into a smirk. "Yeah? That suits you pretty well, bro."

Dolph can't help but grin.


	46. chapter 46

Miz sighs as he stares around at the others. They're back in the Digiworld, waiting for Luke's next announcement. Recovery is slow, but he thinks they're starting to get over it. Personally, he doesn't feel _as_ much fear being here in the Digiworld as he had immediately after everything went down. Even so, he finds himself keeping a closer eye on everything and everyone. Just in case.

Luke doesn't even get an opportunity to tell them what's going on when there's an explosion that sends them all off balance. They gape as rocks and dirt rain down upon them, Luke's homebase effectively destroyed. "Holy hell," Seth mumbles as they stagger backwards, the Digidestined's vision blocked by something dark and large that had landed with a crashing thud.

Mike stares up, his vision finally clearing enough to realize it's a large, black dragon creature with golden claws and orange wings that fade into a blood red, adding to his menacing. "Oh God," he breathes as Monodramon digs his claws into his shirt sleeve.

"It's Black Imperialdramon," he hisses desperately. "He's the highest evolution! We can't beat him... Mike-!"

Miz bites his lip and looks around at the others, who are standing, frozen, as they stare at the terrifying beast before them. "We need to do _something,_ " he tells Monodramon. "We survived four of our fellow teammates getting kidnapped and forced to attack us, we can survive... whatever this is."

Monodramon stares up at him, swallowing. "Alright, Mike. I'll... try..." Even after digivolving to Cyberdramon and leering down at Black Imperialdramon, it's clear he's not comfortable with the situation.

"Positron laser," the large beast yells, reacting to Cyberdramon's evolution with the same attack that had destroyed Luke's area. As a dark beam blasts from a cannon on his back that had been barely visible from where Mike's standing, Cyberdramon only has time to fly up and avoid most of it, though it explodes against his legs and sends him off-course.

When he lands, he immediately collapses, Mike stepping forward but having no choice other than to stop short when Black Imperialdramon looks towards him, his claws digging into the ground. "Hey, um, we can be friends, right?" he asks, lifting his hands in supplication.

Black Imperialdramon stomps towards him and he swallows, stumbling backwards and shaking his head. "Mega Death," he roars, lowering his head and opening his mouth. The beam that blasts out of it is frightening, overwhelming while still feet away, and Mike's life flashes before his eyes as Cyberdramon struggles to move, the others try to do _something_ and-

There's a gold flash of light. Time seems to slow as an unmeasurable amount of gold spheres appear between Mike and Black Imperialdramon, the evil Digimon squinting against the brightness. As it intensifies, he roars out in pain and struggles to attack again and again, but his beams stop short of Mike and the others, exploding against something invisible. "Um..."

It takes what feels like a long time, Cyberdramon painfully crawling over to Mike, but finally Black Imperialdramon exhausts himself until his data fragments and begins to pour away from his body, leaving him unable to do anything before he finally deletes completely.

As soon as he's gone, it's like a switch has flipped for Mike. He can see. A golden light is streaming down upon himself and the others, coming from a golden creature hovering in the sky above them. Their eyes are locked, Mike holding his breath as the massive creature examines him.

The other Digidestined are shifting, mumbling to themselves about him, but it's barely audible to him, his entire focus on this strange Digimon. Finally it fades into nothing and he swallows, reality returning to him as he stares back around at the others.

"What were you looking at, Mike?" Monodramon asks, his legs still seeming weak as he struggles to stand.

"You couldn't see it?" he asks, glancing around as everyone shakes their heads, looking confused and- some of them, anyway- worried. "... Well, that's comforting." He sighs.


	47. Chapter 47

"So, have we confirmed that Miz has lost it?" Seth mumbles to Seadramon as he rides on his partner's back, scoping out the river for anything strange. The rest of the Digidestined are back on land, scoping out things there, but Seth had wanted some time to himself to think. With Luke's homebase in the process of being rebuilt, none of them are sure where trouble may appear, left to depend on the small maps on their Digivices. There had been small blips all around, so they had reluctantly split up to look, with the promise that they'd call for help before engaging in any battles.

"Did he ever have it?" Seadramon asks, eyes twinkling as Seth peers up at him.

"Ya know, this is why I like you, Seadramon," he says, settling more comfortably upon the Digimon's slick back. "I'm glad it's quiet out here."

Seadramon's just opened his mouth to say something when something flies down low, worryingly close to them. The Digimon curses darkly and tosses his head, looking over at Seth. "Next time, just don't say it," he sighs. Whatever else he might've wanted to say is cut off by a metalic creature swooping down once more and thrusting out towards Seadramon, Seth having to hold on tightly as Seadramon shifts to avoid him. "ICE WINDER!" he yells, sweeping his neck around and trying to hit the mysterious beast with an ice beam, but it's avoided. "Dammit," he hisses. "It's Pteranomon X-Antibody..."

"What are X-Antibody Digimon?" Seth asks, catching his breath as Seadramon rights himself and he doesn't feel like he could lose his grip at any moment.

"Most aren't sure," Seadramon admits, keeping an eye out for any further attacks. "Something at the core data level, though." He struggles to think of what he knows about the human race to try to explain better. "Like the DNA structure for a human, if it has an immunity to something... Only certain Digimon have this, and when they do, it makes them stronger and more vicious."

"Great," Seth mumbles.

"Brace yo-" Seadramon's warning is cut off as an explosion knocks him over, Seth losing his hold and hitting the water hard. "SETH!" But there's no time, the angry flying beast is upon him once more and it's taking all of his energy trying to defend himself, painfully aware that Seth will have even less of a chance if something happens to him here and now.

Dark eyes opening underwater, Seth chokes and thrashes around before spotting Seadramon's long body not that far away, but he can't approach because it's clear he's fighting and he doesn't want to distract his partner and risk causing him to be deleted. But Seth can't stay underwater either, or risk drowning, so he twists around and founds an outcrop of rock, swimming around it before scrabbling up to the surface, choking and gagging out salt water. His throat feels like it's on fire but, when he peers around the rock at the battle on-going, he realizes Seadramon isn't doing so well. "SEADRAMON!" he cries out, pulling out his soaked digivice and crest. "DIGIVOLVE!"

MegaSeadramon appears a minute later and Pteranomon X-Antibody roars out in displeasure but, when he shoots missiles off at the freshly digivolved creature, MegaSeadramon all but laughs at him. "Lightning Javelin," he hisses, the skies sending down fatal blasts of electricity that are thankfully only targetting the evil Digimon, causing him to freeze in midair before tearing apart into floating strips of data. Content now that the sea is calm again, MegaSeadramon makes it over to Seth in the blink of an eye and collects him from the rocks. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," he mumbles, clinging to the fins protruding along his partner's back. "Let's go back to land. My digivice isn't showing anything else out this way."

"Good," MegaSeadramon says, appearing as relieved as Seth is to return to the others and dedigivolve.

Once on dry land, Seth stalks forward, eager to find a change of clothes, a towel, something to dry his hair.

"What happened to you?" Alicia asks, her eyes wide as she takes in how soaked he is, more so than he actually is before any of his wrestling matches.

"Nothing," he grumbles, towel drying his hair angrily. "Don't say a word," he warns Ziggler as he opens his mouth. "Are you all done here? Let's go. Now."


	48. chapter 48

Rebuilding Luke's base moving along smoothly, the Digidestined feel a little more secure in venturing around, exploring the Digiworld. Trying to find trouble before it grows too bothersome, or encompassing. Even so, they still feel a little shaky alone, so they usually go out in teams of two. For this reason, Alicia and AJ are wandering around on their own, trying to figure out what their Digivices are pointing them towards when Renamon cries out and immediately hits the ground, as if tripped up by something. AJ stops sharply and turns towards her, eyes wide. "What's wrong?! Renamon?"

Her partner takes a minute to respond, but when she does, it's clearly not Renamon. Her eyes aren't their usual, icy blue shade. Instead they're dark, deadened. She gets to her feet and stares coolly at the two women and Palmon before flicking her nails together. "Diamond storm," she hisses, aiming the attack right at Palmon, who is frozen and unprepared.

Alicia moves, however, her long legs sending her forward with enough force that she succeeds in tackling her partner away from the sharp blast, AJ gasping as dirt is thrown up towards her. "Renamon?"

Palmon regroups quickly after making sure Alicia is alright, getting up to her feet. She'd witnessed AJ and Renamon both when possessed by the evil digimon not that long ago, and there's little to no doubt that this is something different. They circle each other, staring each other down, before Palmon sends vines towards Renamon, struggling to keep up with her as she races around, very agile and nimble as she avoids each of Palmon's attempts.

It's a simple miscalculation, Renamon ending up too close to AJ- who runs out in front of her, trying to stop her- when Palmon shoots forward and wraps her vines around Renamon's legs, once more tripping her but this time she only hits her knees, struggling to stand once more when Palmon, beginning to panic at the lack of response to her Poison Ivy, which is normally enough to paralyze her opponents at least for a few moments, tangles her vines higher, wrapping around Renamon's knees to her midsection, finally tying her arms to her sides.

Renamon's struggles grow harder to ignore and it's with some shock that AJ realizes her Digivice is gleaming, Renamon forcing a Digivolution. "No!" she cries out, seeing every opportunity she has at regaining her partner slipping through her fingers. How she succeeds at stopping her Digivice from reacting to her partner's need, she's not sure, but it feels like it listens to her, suddenly turning dark in her hand.

Officially trapped now, there's little Renamon can do as Palmon approaches warily, their eyes locked. "What are you going to do?" Alicia asks her partner, fearful for her, considering everything they'd seen already.

"I think she's infected by dark data," Palmon says quietly as she takes another couple of steps towards the bitterly seething Digimon. "This can be absorbed just by walking over something that's not visible."

"How do we fix it?" AJ demands, desperate to have Renamon returned to normal as quickly as possible. "When Mike helped us..." She hesitates, the memories fuzzy at best. "He used his Digivice and-"

"He was able to do that because he's the Digidestined of Light," Palmon interjects, not unkindly. "This is an entirely different situation... I'm going to need to extract the data from her."

AJ stares from Palmon to her downed partner, swallowing hard. "How will you know the difference?"

"I won't," she admits grimly. "But I have to try something..." She stares at AJ. "Alright?"

"Yes," the diva finally mutters, her eyes grim as Palmon nods and approaches her partner.

Avoiding another swipe of her claws, Palmon skitters aside, then steps forward again. "Root Breaker," she mutters, one of the vines glowing as it starts to absorb data from Renamon. It's a slow process and the fight is clearly leaving Renamon along with her data and strength, and AJ is terrified as Alicia clings to her, the two of them watching on in horror. However, it's just as clear when Palmon finds what she's looking for, because she shudders and breaks the connection, Renamon immediately de-volving to the much smaller form of Viximon.

"Are you ok?" Alicia asks her partner anxiously, AJ peeking over her shoulder as she scoops her partner up and hugs her close.

Palmon nods, shaking herself. "Yes, it didn't enter me. I overwhelmed it with Renamon's pure data and my own, and it was destroyed. Everything's fine now." She walks forward and lays a gentle hand on top of Viximon's head, smiling at the baby creature as she opens her wide blue eyes and stares up at Palmon. "You'll be alright, Viximon."

The young Digimon's voice is soft, almost shy, but definitely grateful. "Thank you, Palmon," she murmurs.

Alicia grins and rests a hand on Palmon's forehead, eager to return to the relatively safe group setting with them all together. "Come on, guys," she urges, leading the way. Neither of the divas notice when Palmon peeks back towards where Renamon had stepped when the data had begun to overwhelm her...


	49. chapter 49

Heath, and Wade are wandering through the latest arena, Wade trying to find Truth. "I can't bloody believe this," he grouses again and again to Heath, who keeps attempting to show sympathy no matter how many times he says the same thing. "Three weeks to Wrestlemania and I don't have my bloody belt. This is mortifying."

"I know. It sucks, man," he says quietly, glancing over where Dolph and Zack are staring at something.

"I can't believe you still _have_ one of these, kid. And it works?"

Zack looks smug as Heath wanders over, Wade standing a few feet away. "What is it?"

"Tamagotchi," he says proudly. "And it's still playable, bro!" He presses buttons, music bleeping from the small machine, when Heath feels a flash of warmth and... something explodes behind them, knocking him forward. "What-?!"

He's on his feet and turned around quickly, finding Wade blown back against the wall. He looks frightened but Heath is quickly distracted by a flash of blue- at first he thinks it's bug but then his Digivice rattles to life and Lopmon frees himself, landing on Heath's shoulder. "Heath, there's a Digimon! It came out of Zack's game! I sensed it as soon as it appeared, it's really strong-"

"It's tiny!"

"That doesn't matter!" Lopmon cries, landing on the ground. "We need to find him, he could go anywhere in this arena-"

"I'll find 'im, I'll stomp him with my boot," Heath promises, searching the ground.

"Heath-" Lopmon's warning is cut off by another, quieter plead of his name. He turns to find Wade staring desperately at him, a glowing energy wave held against his throat.

He stares in horror for a moment before squinting, finally spotting the Digimon resting on Wade's shoulder, the blue streak proving to be his claw. "One wrong move," he finally speaks, his voice full of reverb and static, "and I will shred his throat like cheese."

Heath and Lopmon exchange pained glances before looking helplessly back at Wade. "Just do something," the British man hisses, prefering to move than just stand here, waiting for the Digimon to do something.

Lopmon waits until Heath nods in reluctant agreement, immediately leaping up and twisting around. "Petit Twister!" The tornado that forms is normally a small attack but for an already tiny creature, it's enough to knock him from Wade's shoulder, Heath relieved to see that he'd only had the time to make a small knick in Wade's flesh.

He barely notices that when Lopmon cries out in pain, slashes forming all over her body. "Lopmon!" he cries out, unable to do anything as the mysterious Digimon swarms him. Regular Digivolution doesn't work in the real world and Wade is still working at stopping the slight bleeding from his neck. "Dammit, dammit, dammit," Heath grunts. "Come on..."

Lopmon is trying to fight back but without knowing where the pixelated creature is coming from, he's helpless.

Heath, sick of watching as more data streams from his partner, turns and kicks the nearest wall angrily, shaking his head desperately. "Think of _something,_ " he demands himself, eyes squinted shut when there's a sudden flash of light and he stares at it in shock, even Wade looking up in surprise. "Hey- what..." A yellow globe floats towards him with a wing-shape forming out of it, a swirly shape etched into the side. He instinctively grabs it and clings to it as a fresh stream of power forms between his fingers. "Wha-...?"

"Armor Digivolution," Wade mumbles as Heath's Digivice reacts, the glow spreading into Lopmon.

His cuts and injuries heal as he cries out, "Lopmon Armor Digivolve to..." His small body strips into data before reforming into a four legged creature covered in flames, his claws and teeth bared as he rears towards the small Digimon who finally hesitates. "Lynxmon, the everlasting flame of Fate!"

Despite their vast size differences, the miniscule Digimon seems undisturbed. "Double Crescent Mirage!"

Shock waves impact against Lynxmon but he shakes them off, determined to not lose so quickly after reaching this form. "THERMAL MANE!" he yells, intense flames surrounding the area.

Wade pulls Heath away from one of the closest waves of flame and they watch in awe as the small creature is incinerated, his scratchy screams eventually fading into nothing. Immediately the flames dissipate and Lynxmon releases a breath, de-digivolving back to Lopmon. He's still healed but it's obvious he feels weak, collapsing at Heath's feet.

Immediately the Digidestined leans down and picks him up. "You alright, Lopmon?"

"Tired," he murmurs, peeking an eye open. "I should go back in the Digivice now, right?"

"If you want, yeah, probably." Heath squeezes him. "Thanks for helpin' out, Lopmon." Once he's safely back in his Digivice, Heath turns back to Wade and examines his neck with a frown, Dolph and Zack hesitantly walking around the burnt ground towards them.

"Bros, what _was_ that?"

"No idea," Heath shrugs. "Lopmon said it came from your Tamagotchi though."

Zack picks his game up from where he'd dropped it and shakes it, frowning. "Are you serious, bro?"

"I told you those things would be bad for your health, kid," Dolph says, clapping him on the back as he looks at it, confused.


	50. chapter 50

AJ stares at the other Digidestined as they argue and disagree about everything and anything under the sun. She'd not been back on the road for very long and they're quickly getting on her nerves. Everyone's tense with Wrestlemania on the horizon and everything going on in the Digiworld.

Luke's revised base is still being built, which adds to their general feeling of displacement whenever they're in the Digiworld. She sighs as Heath and Zack begin arguing even louder about... whatever little issues they have now. "Come on," she mumbles to Renamon. They wander for awhile, exploring the area around what used to be Luke's mountain when Renamon stops short. AJ turns to look at her, eyebrows raised. "What's going on?"

"I think I saw something," she mumbles. "It looked like... red..."

"Where?" AJ peers around, not seeing anything until she turns sharply and... "Whoa." There's a flashing light not far away and she moves closer to see better.

"AJ, watch out, we don't know what-"

"Colored Sparks!" Shocks sparkle against AJ's skin, causing her hair to frizz up as she gapes. Before she can move, the voice calls out again. "Striped Horn Attack!" More flashing lights come out of nowhere as a familiar looking Digimon jumps at her, horn extended.

Renamon lunges forward and forearms the Digimon away, pulling AJ aside with her free hand. "I told you to watch out," she grunts, staring down at the creature as it regroups and stands up.

"It looks like a red Gabumon," AJ says breathlessly, trying to smooth her hair down.

"It's Psychemon," Renamon sighs. "He likes to confuse people." She stares at the rookie Digimon with a grimace. "I get the feeling he's attacking us for a different reason though..."

AJ's about to say something when- "Colorful dance!" She turns and watches as Psychemon begins to build a wall of blocks that seemingly appear out of nowhere, moving so quickly that it's hard to keep track of him.

"Ummm... What is he doing?"

"You'll see," Renamon sighs, tugging AJ back a few more feet. They watch quietly as the wildly colored Digimon runs back and forth, the wall growing taller with each moment.

AJ can barely see the top of the wall when Psychemon abruptly jumps down on the side of the wall they can't see, kicking it and sending it collapsing down on top of them. She squeaks but Renamon holds still as the blocks cascade down around them, not enough to hurt either one of them. "Uh."

Shaking her head, Renamon lunges forward. "Diamond Storm!" she cries out, the sharp shards piercing through Psychemon's coat.

He stands still for a moment before lifting his paw, shooting more sparks towards Renamon, but they disappear as his strength dissipates, his data drifting in streams on the air as he deletes.

"A correupted digimon this close to Luke's zone... it's not a good sign," Renamon mumbles as they walk back, AJ listening to her. "They're appearing in places that were once protected... we're losing traction..."

"What can we do?" AJ wonders, growing more fearful over Renamon's worries.

It doesn't help her at all when Renamon doesn't answer.


	51. chapter 51

The Digidestined decide to hold a meeting at Luke's mostly rebuilt mountainside zone, the man looking happier than they've seen him in quite awhile now that he has an actual home again. The eight of them and their Digimon look up at him intently as he takes in the reformated land, the screens with maps and other regional information for specific missions ready for what may come. It looks impressive, a nice revamp from what used to be here. Content with what he sees, Luke turns back to the group and smiles. "So, it's been nearly a year since you all were called to this world. I wanted to let you all know that your efforts in protecting this world can never be repaid. Many villages owe their survival to you all, as do I." He takes a moment for the Digidestined to absorb his words before continuing on. "But we are far from done, as every day there's new trouble on the horizon. Together, I have no doubt we can overcome it."

He walks up to them and stares Seth in the eye. "I am aware you have plenty of responsibility on your shoulders with being considered the future of the WWE by The Authority. I would like you to continue on as the leader of the Digidestined, but if this is a problem..."

"No," Seth tells him. "It's fine. I'm up to the challenge." Underneath the smug callousness, he sounds confident, and apparently it's enough to encourage Luke because he nods and turns to look at the others, one at a time.

"Are you all prepared to continue on being Digidestined?"

None of them hesitate. "Yes," the seven chorus easily.

Luke nods with a proud look in his dark eyes. "Very well, then." He kneels down by the Digimon and smiles at then, petting Patamon and Lopmon while they crowd around him. "You've all grown so much in such a short amount of time. I have no doubt that this will continue on steadily over the next year. I'm proud of you all." Even Renamon looks pleased with his compliments, but he soon stands and stares at them all. "For now, I want you all to take it easy. There's no distress signals for now so perhaps explore a little, enjoy what this world offers. When at peace, the villages are quite accomodating to visitors."

"Any place you suggest?" Zack asks, always down for seeing new places and experiencing new things, meeting new people... or creatures.

Patamon looks up at him before Luke can respond. "My village is near here! Can we go, can we, huh?"

Luke laughs at the Digimon's eagerness. "It's a very nice, peaceful place to go. I would recommend it."

"Then I guess that's where we're going," Seth sighs, resting a hand on Betamon's head before standing up straight. "Let's go." The group of them walk in the direction that Patamon is exuberantly guiding Zack towards, his small wings fluttering rapidly from where he's sitting atop Zack's head causing Dolph to grin, barely able to keep his laughter in check.

"Hey, AJ, did I seriously see you tweeted about having a tamogatchi downloaded to your phone?" Miz says abruptly, teasing the diva. She purses her lips at him and rolls her eyes. "Well, better make sure that it doesn't do what Zack's did a couple of weeks ago."

"Haha," she mumbles. "It won't." He smirks at her until she pushes him away and walks ahead, Renamon at her side.

He pouts at her back before Patamon gasps, "We're here!" in awe, floating completely off of Zack's head and flying towards his old home.

"Bro!" Zack protests, trying to correct his hair. "Come back-" But then he sees it too and falls silent, impressed. It's sunny enough as it is, but there's a special kind of glow coming from inside the village, and as they enter it, it becomes clear why. There are numerous kinds of angel-type Digimon wandering around, their ethereal appearance enough to light up the darkest of lands. The Digidestined gape around, amazed and a little frightened to say the wrong thing, because these creatures not only are awe-inspiring by appearance alone but are also intimidating in stature. It's enough to make the humans feel lacking.

Except, that is, for Mike, who walks into the middle of the village and takes it all in. Patamon is the only other one seeming at ease, hovering by Miz's shoulder as they watch the angelic creatures come and go. "It's beautiful," the rookie creature murmurs, Mike nodding in agreement. "I've missed it so much."

A group of Patamon rush by, playing, when a young one stops short and turns to look at Mike and Patamon. "Digidestined!" she squeaks, fluttering back to them. "Welcome!" She's smaller than Zack's Patamon, her eyes a more icy blue, and he smiles at her. The other Digidestined slowly join them, Zack looking relieved when his partner returns to his shoulder.

Realizing that one of their number's missing, the other Patamon return and gape up at the humans in surprise. "Digidestined," they reaffirm. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to visit home," Patamon calls down to them from Zack's shoulder, fluttering down to the ground to face them. "It's been a long time, brothers and sisters."

The younger Digimon whisper and murmur amongst themselves, Zack starting to feel uncomfortable on behalf of his partner, when a tall, white Digimon wrapped in glowing cloths lands nearby, examining them intensely. "What is this?" He approaches and seems to realize himself. "Digidestined... I am the leader of this village, MagnaAngemon... Is there a problem?"

"No," Seth says quickly, deciding to step in finally. "One of the digimon on our team comes from here and wished to visit, is all."

MagnaAngemon looks past them and spots Patamon, realizing immediately. "Ah, I see. I apologize for the children, they are unused to humans. There haven't been Digidestined in the Digiworld for many years." He looks past Seth and spots Mike, tilting his head. "Are you Patamon's partner, then? I sense the power of light in you..."

Mike's hand instinctively reaches down for his digivice but he shakes his head. "No, Monodramon is my partner. Patamon is Zack's," he says, nodding towards the broski.

MagnaAngemon turns and stares at him, Zack swallowing hard as he suddenly feels like he's being scrutinized by a date's father. "I see," he murmurs. "You will be a good thing for each other, I sense." He kneels down by where the young digimon are playing, stroking Patamon's head. "You are already much stronger than you were when you left us. I am proud of you."

Zack's partner blinks, looking up at the impressive Digimon. "Thank you, MagnaAngemon," he murmurs, flushing hotly at his former leader's praise.

The Digidestined stay for awhile longer, watching the Patamon play and the older Digimon wandering around, handling village business. When they decide to leave, MagnaAngemon sees them off, the group of Patamon waving at his feet. "I think that's the first time we went somewhere in the Digiworld without something going wrong," Heath mutters to Wade.

"Shut up or you'll jinx it," the Intercontinental champion mumbles, smirking when Heath huffs.


	52. chapter 52

Luke stares at the group of Digidestined, an impassive look in his cool, grey eyes. "As you all are aware, AJ Lee has retired from wrestling in the WWE," he says slowly, his arms crossed behind his back as he faces them. "As such, she will join Alberto Del Rio, Ricardo Rodriguez and CM Punk as earth-bound Digidestined." Murmurs and nods follow this comment and he takes a breath. "There are now seven of you. Do you feel confident continuing your missions with these reduced numbers, or do you wish for replacements to be sought out?"

Seth stares over at the other Digidestined for a moment. His confidence at an all-time high since winning the world heavyweight titile, he doesn't see a problem with answering for the others with little to no time for deliberation. "We're fine with that. No problems."

There are a couple hesitant murmurs but all in all, no one seems to disagree. "Very well," Luke says. "Seeing my base is rebuilt now, I am able to keep a closer eye on troublesome situations forming around the zones."

Wade, feelimg aimless and impatient without his title belt, stares over at Luke. "Is there anything happening right now?"

"There is a minor disturbance in-"

"I'll take it," Wade snaps, turning to glare over at the others. "On my own. No interference." Heath looks like he's about to say something when Wade reiterates. " _No_ interference." He holds his Digivice up until a map flashes on it and, satisfied, he walks away, Lunamon peering back at the others before Wade turns a corner and they are out of sight.

She doesn't say anything, easy to guess by his stance and his glower that now's not the time to try to get Wade's attention. Even when she thinks she knows where the map is taking them, she allows him to stomp on, hoping that it'd be enough for him to calm down, burn off some steam.

Her suspicions, however, are proven when loud chittering and highpitched yells echo back from a nearby village. She laughs softly, trying to muffle it in Wade's shoulder, but he's already stopped, quirking his head to the side. "What the bloody hell is that?!"

"Baby Digimon," Lunamon explains lowly. "We've been taken to a village where abandoned baby Digimon are kept and fostered." He glances over at her and she smiles somberly. "Sometimes Digimon parents are deleted, leaving their children defenseless, or worse, the baby Digimon are abandoned for being too weak... when that happens, they're brought here, where a few grown Digimon work together to raise them."

Wade swallows, suddenly distracted from his own troubles. "I see. And there is something happening here? We should move faster..."

"Maybe not-" Lunamon's just said when something hard impacts with Wade's shoe, stopping him short.

"What the?!" he demands, suddenly unable to move.

Lunamon hops off of his shoulder and immediately shoots water at his shoes, causing some of the weight to ease. He blinks, confused, as she turns around and plucks something out of the bushes. "LET ME GO!" a small blue creature that doesn't have any significant shape to its body cries, ears and paws waving all over the place.

Lunamon cringes but clings to him anyway. "We're here to help, stop fighting me! Why are you out of the baby village? You're safe there-" She's quieted immediately when he spits something hard and silver at her, Lunamon shaking her head desperately as it clings to her fur.

Wade, pulling his shoe free, now walks over to them and grabs the small Digimon, holding him up at eye level. The abrupt change in height startles the little guy into silence and he stares at Wade in fear. "Well, aren't you a fluffy little nuance?" he demands, snarling into Dorimon's beady eyes. "Alright down there, Lunamon?"

"Yes," she says, scrubbing a wet hand down her face before resuming her position on Wade's shoulder, staring down at Dorimon. "Why did you leave?"

He stares balefully at them before slumping into Wade's grip, pressing his paws together in an unexpected show of self-consciousness. "I was getting bullied by the others. I've been at the village longer than anyone, and I've yet to Digivolve."

Lunamon stares at him, glances up at Wade, then scoots down Wade's arm until the little Digimon is in reach. Her touch, however, is comforting and Dorimon stares up at her. "When it's time, it'll happen. You can't rush these things. Anyone who doesn't understand that isn't worth your time."

He sighs and looks away. "But when they gang up on me..."

"Tell the adult Digimon, they'll help you," Lunamon tells him kindly. "I'm sure they were late Digivolvers as well. It's nothing to be ashamed of." They stand still for awhile, allowing him to digest this, and finally Lunamon says quietly, "Are you ready to return?"

He looks from her to Wade before releasing a breath. "Alright. I guess." They walk him back towards the village and Wade stands uncomfortably by the entrance while Lunamon leads Dorimon back towards the Digimon clustered around.

He smirks to himself while the baby Digimon watch on, wide eyed and uncertain, and the adult ones surround him and fuss, Lunamon having to explain a couple of times before they understand.

Once done and free from the adults, she returns to Wade's side and climbs up his arm. "Think he'll be ok?" she asks Wade as they walk back to Luke's area.

"I believe so," he answers after a moment. "However, let's not tell the others what this little... issue was about, yes?"

She fights a giggle, nodding. "Of course. But you still have some dried metal on your shoe."

He looks down, groaning when he sees she's right. "Bollocks..."


	53. chapter 53

After the ease of the last 'mission', Wade is almost disappointed when they're sent to the virus zone. He stares at the map with a huge cluster of dots alerting to an issue in the zone with a displeased glower before turning to follow the others to the Digiport that takes them to the right area.

Seth, of course, leads the way, with Alicia and Mike following close behind. Dolph and Zack are ahead of Wade, discussing the books they'd read during the European tour, which leaves him walking side by side with Heath. The ginger is uncharacteristically quiet for a moment but, after awhile, nudges Wade. "Bet you wish you had your motorcycle now, huh?" he asks with a smirk.

Wade rolls his eyes at him but doesn't respond, depsite feeling some relief at his making lame comments for the first time all day. The trip through to the virus zone is quiet and grim, the others seeming to absorb Wade's own mood as he follows them towards the bright dot on the map.

They've just arrived in the general area of the issue when they hear screams and yells, immediately stopping and staring at each other. All of them grab their Digivices and turn to their partners. "Digivolve," Wade tells Lunamon tensely.

It's blinding and loud, all seven of them Digivolving at once, but once it's done, and Wade gets a good look at the larger Digimon hanging around, he feels slightly more confident in what they're about to face. Even Nefertimon helps, since Lunamon had opted not to Digivolve the normal way and instead use the Digimental, since her standard digivolution is so small.

She and Cyberdramon are hovering over the area to get a better view when there's a sudden explosion and Nefertimon spirals out of the ground, landing with a heavy thud only a few feet away from Wade. Cyberdramon only lasts a few seconds longer before he too is shot out of the sky, landing with a heavier thud further away, just missing the entire group.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" Wade's only just demanded when horrible heat greets them, sharp flames appearing out of nowhere. The Digimon still conscious are trying to work together to put the flames out and make sure their human partners are safe when...

Wade's thrown back by another explosion, his hearing gone and his vision blurry. He blinks a few times and rubs at his eyes just to wipe blood away, staring down at the red stains covering his hands. Worried and unable to hear anything around him, he looks up and over, his heart immediately sinking. All of their partners now in their baby forms, looking about as vulnerable as Dorimon had the last time Wade had been on a 'mission', his eyes skip over them and rests on a massive, terrifying Digimon looming over them all.

He's speechless as the creature stares down at them with wild eyes, his body thrumming with electric energy. He sniffs at the baby Digimon, making a humming noise before he snuffs and turns away from them, his gaze meeting Wade's. "Humans," he breathes out, his voice sounding rough with disuse. "I haven't seen one of you around here in so long... I have had my fill of data over the years... I have always been curious about human flesh..."

Wade struggles to sit up, do something, but he's weak and his senses are still barely useable, even the evil Digimon before him only somewhat audible through the ringing in his ears. Even so, when he skips over the baby Digimon and approach the motionless humans, his motivation is clear. Especially when he opens his jaws, his eyes- flashing a light blue light- locked on Heath's limp body.

Wade gets enough strength then to pull himself up into an awkward, half-sitting position and struggle to reach out for his fellow former Nexus and Corre member. Realizing that there's no way he'll be able to move in time to do anything to save Heath or any of the others, he falls back on his only other option.

"SLATER!"


	54. chapter 54

"SLATER!"

It's the first thing Heath hears beyond the ringing in his ears. He's down on the ground, pain and heat all around him, but that one yell... he clings to it, tries to use it to leverage himself back up. It's Wade, he knows that much, and there's this scent in the air... a general open feeling, so he remembers pretty quickly that they're still in the Digiworld. He's struggling to make sense of everything when he remembers- Moosemon and the others, and... He struggles upwards and finds himself only barely able to lift his face off of the ground, staring at the destruction before him. The ground is pitted, littered in baby Digimon and it takes him a painful amount of time to realize. They are their partners, all incapacitated and perhaps near deletion.

He struggles forward, wrapping his arms around the small brown creature with three horns that is so obviously his partner that it hurts. He hugs him close and wonders how he's going to keep the baby safe, the others safe... when he remembers. Wade, screaming his name... he awkwardly twists onto his back to see his former Corre teammate, when he realizes why Wade was yelling. There's a massive Digimon only inches away from him, nasty breath washing over Heath's prone body, his large jaw open as though he's intending on swallowing Heath whole. Eyes widening, Heath squeaks as he tries to scramble backwards, unable to find the strength to even move an inch.

"Heath!" Wade tries again, as if that would somehow change things, but he supposes that it does, though not in a way that Heath prefers as Rust Tyrannomon turns his head towards Wade, apparently losing interest in Heath as he focuses on Wade.

"You talk too much," he says, unaware of how ironic that is as he leans down and huffs, his exhale enough to knock an already wobbly Wade back down.

Heath stares down at the baby Digimon in his hands, back up at Wade, and swallows hard, his dark eyes drowning as he tries to think of a way to stop this. "There has to be _something,_ " he whispers desperately, hugging Chocomon hard. "Please..."

From where Heath's laying, he can't see Wade and he's afraid that it's already too late, his nails digging into the ground. "Come on, come on..." He forces himself up to his knees, then gets his feet under him somehow. He still can't see around Rust Tyrannomon, but he feels less vulnerable here.

Putting Chocomon down carefully, he puts one foot in front of the other until he gets a good running start, making his way around Rust Tyrannmon's bulk until he can see Wade. The large Digimon hasn't done anything yet, nearly glaring him down, and Heath realizes why soon enough: Wade has held his digivice out, which is glowing brightly and acting as a kind of shield against the creature's attack. Catching on, Heath lunges forward and ends up wedged in next to Wade, also holding his Digivice out. Its glow combines with Wade's, strengthening the shield and forcing the Digimon back a few feet.

Wade glances over at Heath, his face pale and sweaty. "You are a bloody fool."

"I know," he mutters. "Saved your life though."

Wade grunts and turns away, focusing on the Digivices. The longer this goes, the hotter the devices become and the more they vibrate, which makes it harder to hold onto, but Heath grits his teeth and tries not to think about it even as his arm falls asleep. "Slater..."

"Uh huh..."

"I saved your life too, that's why I'm in this mess to begin with." Heath huffs next to him, and Wade smirks. They're pretty sure the digivices are going to run out of energy or their arms will lose all strength when...

"BEAM OF ISIS!" There's flashes of light and an explosion behind Rust Tyrannomon before he staggers.

"TUSK CRUSHER!" His body starts to crumble as he falls forward, Wade and Heath staring at each other in fear as his shadow begins to encompass them, their Digivices working even harder to keep them shielded, hurting their arms worse.

More flashes and explosions and Rust Tyrannomon's eyes dull, his body slowly short circuiting as he crumbles in place. When he actually deletes, it happens in a rush, and Wade releases a deep breath as his Digivice stops thrumming with the power required to hold the shield up.

Heath collapses back against the ground, his digivice held against his chest in a limp hand while Nefertimon and Mammothmon walk over to them, slowly de-volving back to their baby forms. Heath sighs as Chocomon rejoins him, Moonmon settling on Wade's shoulder sleepily. "How did you two digivolve again?" he asks, resting his hand on Chocomon's forehead.

"Your Digivices were calling to us," the young creature explains. "We woke up and began to digivolve..."

"Well, it was decent timing," Wade sighs. "I don't plan on moving any time soon though."

"Me neither," Heath sighs. They lay side by side, listening as the others start to regroup. "Thanks, Brit."

"Thank you, Ginger."


	55. chapter 55

"Miz is away filming a movie," Alicia tells Luke. He stares at her, before staring at the other Digidestined scattered around. "It won't be for long, just a few weeks. I think we'll be ok until he's back."

"Of course we will," Seth says, his confidence as WWE champion bleeding over to the Digital World. "Who needs the Miz anyway? Right, Betamon?"

The Digimon nods, looking slightly uncomfortable with being put on the spot like that, when Luke clears his throat, distracting them all. "Perhaps, but you all are a team right now, so you need to work together."

"Right," Seth says dismissively. "So where're we going this time?"

As Luke accesses the map, Alicia glances around at the others. No one seems thrilled by Seth's comments, but they turn their attention to the dot flashing on the screen. "It's another in the Virus Zone," Luke says needlessly.

Seth watches as the map activates on his Digivice. "Let's get going then," he says, not bothering to look behind him to make sure the others are following.

Alicia stays close to Zack and Dolph, feeling strangely vulnerable as their numbers diminish more and more with each passing week. "Is it just me or are more of these missions happening in the Virus zone?" she asks after a few moments.

Both men slow, allowing her to walk between them as Patamon, Palmon and Impmon walk in front of them. "Ya know, she's right, bro," Zack says, glancing at the other man. "Which sucks even more now that there's only six of us left."

Dolph glances back at him for a moment before looking away, uncomfortable at having to look at the faint bruises covering his face from the beatdown by Sheamus last Monday. "It'll be ok, kid," he says simply. Since Zack had been taken by evil Digimon while injured, Dolph's been very protective of him. Which, Alicia thinks, is why Dolph interceded and saved Zack on Monday.

She squeals and hugs both men. "You two are adorable!"

"Uhh," Dolph mumbles, laughing when he sees the blush on Zack's face. "Come on, Foxy. The others are getting far ahead of us." She obliges after a few moments, letting go of them so they can continue on.

Alicia lands awkwardly after the portal is activated, her mouth immediately going dry as she takes in the area around her. Ther's a village before them... or was... but it lays in shambles right now, rubble and dust all that remains. The destruction is awful and, if the surroundings are any indication, it's not the only village that's been destroyed. "Oh my God," she breathes. The smell of smoke is acrid, her eye sstarting to water from it, and they're all looking around for the cause of this devastation when there's a whistling sound and an explosion follows not that far away, rattling the ground under their feet.

Alicia feles as she's pushed down, hitting the ground hard, Zack's hands warm on her shoulders. Palmon is down too, their eyes locking, and Alicia fumbles for her Digivice. As soon as she touches it, she nods. "Digivolve!"

Palmon nods too and within moments, Kiwimon is standing in front of her, Darcmon and Wizardmon soon joining her. They're all dwarfed, however, by the Digimon who appears, easily responsible for the destroyed villages surrounding them. Alicia struggles to breathe as their Digimon attack him in a sequence of multicolored blasts.

The robotic Digimon that Alicia thinks loosely resembles a dinosaur doesn't even flinch, a simple blow from him enough to send MegaSeadramon flying while Seth watches, agape with horror. Mammothmon and Nefertimon fairs no better and Alicia can do nothing but watch as he picks Kiwimon up and stares at her distastefully.

"No," she whimpers as he begins to squash the Champion level Digimon between his claw. "Please," she cries out, begging for her partner's life. "Don't hurt her, I need her- she's my friend... My only friend!" It's true. Whereas she would demand or beg for companionship from anyone else, Palmon had never strayed, always happy to spend time with her, no matter what she does or says.

Tears pouring down her face, Alicia barely notices the glow coming from a grassy knoll nearby... until her fingers close around something solid and cool. She sniffs and stares down at it blankly as it and her Digivice begin to react to each other. "Wha- what..."

Kiwimon is glowing too now, her body starting to deconstruct, reforming into something tall and beautiful, graceful and etheral. "Kiwimon Digivolve to..." A soft, floral scent soothes Alicia as the new Digimon appears before her eyes. "Lilimon," she says quietly. Her eyes are dark ovals, petals are blossoming out of her head and surrounding her lower body, four leaves sprouting from her body like wings.

Alicia can't take her eyes off of the creature, in awe that she's her partner. "You're beautiful," she gasps, scrambling to her feet as Lilimon winks at her before turning back to the evil Digimon still trying to grab at her, her always active wings making this nearly impossible.

"FLOWER CANNON!" she cries out, the leaves of her hands coming together, a massive beam engulfing him. His body immediately cracks under the pressure, a shocked look on his face, and Alicia sinks back to the ground, feeling shaky and emotional. "Are you ok?!" Lilimon's touch is about as soft and comforting as her voice and Alicia grabs her in a tight hug.

"You're incredible," she breathes, watching over Lilimon's shoulder as the other Digidestined regroup, collect their partners and look over the damage.

"Because of you," Lilimon tells her. "I wouldn't have made it this far without your sincerity and friendship."

Alicia, remembering, looks down at the crest in her hand, finally getting a real chance to examine the emblem. "So this is..."

"The crest of Sincerity, yes," Lilimon says with a smile. "It suits you."

Alicia grins, running a finger along its surface. "Thank you. For everything." When Lilimon de-volves, Alicia hugs her tighter, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I love you."

Palmon grins. "I love you too, Alicia."


	56. chapter 56

"Well, at least we're not in the virus zone again," Zack offers, resting a hand on top of Patamon's head as they walk through the Data Zone, keeping an eye on their Digivices while looking for the trouble that their maps are pointing them towards.

"Because we've always had so much better luck in Vaccine or Data zones," Dolph says, squinting against the bright midafternoon sun. "Why did we forget to bring sunglasses? Ugh..."

"I didn't forget," Zack smirks, adjusting his pair over his eyes with a smirk. Dolph rolling his eyes at him makes him only grin brighter and Dolph swats him in the back of the head, trudging after him. Seth, Alicia, Wade and Heath are scattered around, walking quietly towards the spot on the map when there's a flash of blue that Zack looks towards with a frown. "Hey, bros, hang on," he calls to the others. They all slow and peer back at him but see nothing other than Zack looking confused. "I think I saw something," he says, taking off his sunglasses to get a better look.

Seth quickly loses patience with him and continues on, his hands buried in his pockets as Betamon loiters on his shoulder, the others following his lead when there's another flash of light that attracts Zack's attention, his eyes searching the immediate area to try to find the cause of it. He doesn't say anything this time, however, quietly following the others. Every time he sees a streak of blue or gold, however, he stops and tries to find it again just to realize that it's gone missing again.

He's just beginning to think he's losing his mind when there's a deep explosion not far away, sending them all flying feet away. Zack stirs and sits up, trying to wipe his face clean of dirt and grime when he spots it. There's a deep crater in the ground, as wide as it is deep and all he can do is gape down at it in shock. "What the hell is this?" Another flash of blue and gold and he feels an intense heat by his elbow when... he's knocked back once more, his entire body tense with the pain of it. He thinks he hears a whisper in the wind but he can't grasp it, only able to see blue and gold flashes beyond his eyelids.

He's not sure how much time has passed when he feels something staring at him. He's tempted to swat at it, thinking it's either Dolph or Impmon, but his instincts stop him at the last moment and he instead squints his eyes open, peering at the creature before him. "...Shit," he breathes. He has a human shape, but there's intense golden energy arcing around his body, leaving him impenetrable. "Who are you?"

The creature doesn't say anything for a long moment. "I am Mirage Gaogamon," he breathes, sounding as if each word causes him pain. "Burst Mode... You are Digidestined."

"Yes," Zack mumbles, trying to stay conscious as his head throbs from the hard landing he'd suffered during the explosion. By the looks of it, the others hadn't faired much better.

"Why are you here?" the blue armored humanoid asks. "I thought I was alone so I could drain some of my energy by attacking the ground..."

"We were alerted there was a problem, bro," Zack tells him. "We have to investigate each report, so we came here... I thought I was seeing you, but you disappeared as soon as I caught sight of you each time, so I didn't know what was going on. And no one else saw you..." He groans and closes his eyes, wishing he had tylonel on hand.

"I was a normal Mirage Gaogamon once," he says wistfully. "But my energy levels began to multiply and I mode changed into this form... now I can't control my attacks unless I try to drain my power... I grow weary of this existence..." Mirage Gaogamon Burst Mode stares down at him. "You claim you're here to help with issues. Help me..."

"How?" Zack demands. "I don't know how to help you, bro. You're too powerful and I'm the only one here who's still conscious. What can I do?"

Mirage Gaogamon Burst Mode releases a breath. "I have an attack, but it doesn't work properly on inanimate objects." He looks doubtfully at Patamon as he listens to them, blue eyes intense on the powerful Digimon. "Can your partner Digivolve?"

"Yes," Zack says quietly. "Why?"

"My attack is... it allows me to drain all of my power," Mirage Gaogamon explains. "If I could try to hit your partner with it, and he could avoid, I would be freed from having to do this just to function."

Zack looks at Patamon, who looks reluctant. "I... what do you think, Patamon? Do you want to help him? Digivolve to Darcmon and see how it goes?"

Patamon stares up at Mirage Gaogamon for a moment, taking in the deep desperation and weariness in his gaze, making him want to help. "...Alright," he says finally. "Patamon Digivolve to... Darcmon!" Once the light of the evolution fades, he stands straight and stares at Mirage Gaogamon, watching as he holds his weapon out in front of him, gold energy streaming around his hands and growing with each second. As it pulses, Darcmon holds his breath, trying to trust in Zack's decision to help this Digimon.

As he stands still and watches, Mirage Gaogamon Burst Mode focuses on the energy cycling through his hands and growing in intensity until his body starts to waver and drift, data streaming around him. As his attack grows, more of his body deletes. Darcmon prepares to move away as his fingers start to fade away, Mirage Gaogamon finally aiming the attack at him with the last of his strength. It blows towards him, pulsing and preparing to explode. The closer it gets, the harder Darcmon finds it to focus...

"MOVE DARCMON!" Zack screams, snapping his partner out of it. Darcmon flies up and away, missing the most of the attack. A bit of his wing is singed, causing him to land heavily into the ground and skidding. He then dedigivolves when Zack runs up to him, scooping him up. When he stands up and turns to look, Mirage Gaogamon is gone, leaving nothing behind but the craters to prove he'd just been here. "What just happened, bro?" he asks Patamon, who's lounging limply in his arms.

"I don't know," Patamon mumbles, his eyes closed. "My side hurts."

"I'm sorry, bro," Zack whispers, touching where the attack had briefly impacted. "You're going to be ok. Put you back in the digivice and go home."

"Sounds good," he sighs. They're still standing there, catching their breath, when there's a bright glowing light engulfing one of the craters. "What is that?" When the light fades away, a Digiegg is laying there and Zack slides down the side, picking it up. "Do you think this is Mirage Gaogamon?" he wonders, examining the designs on the egg.

"Probably," Patamon says quietly. "We should take him to Luke, maybe he can help him control his power once he Digivolves to a higher level."

"Sounds like a plan, bro," Zack grins. "Let's go wake the others up and do that."


	57. chapter 57

Mike falls asleep in Vancouver after a long day of filming Santa's Little Helper.

He wakes up in the Digital World. Scrambling and struggling until he's somewhat on his feet once more, he looks around desperately, expecting to find the others also waking up in such a state. But no, he's alone, with nothing but his Digivice nearby. Scooping it up, he frees Monodramon, who appears as confused as he feels, and they look around for answers. "I'm not sure what we're doing here," he tells his partner. "We were in Vancouver last I knew..."

"Me too," Monodramon frowns. "This is... strange..."

"To say the least," Mike sighs. He's about to suggest they walk off, look for Luke or anyone else who may know what's going on, when there's a sizzle in the air and he tenses up, looking around.

"Mike!" Monodramon cries, abruptly tackling him and sending him hard to the ground as a massive ball of flame crash into the ground where he'd just been standing. Monodramon gets up quickly and rushes off, Mike struggling to breathe.

He looks up in time to see paws, engulfed in flames, stabbing through Monodramon's armored body and sending him crashing back into the dirt. "MONODRAMON!" he cries, suddenly distracted by the assailant- a vicious looking dinosaur with a bright red body and black stripes across its arms and legs. He scrambles back but there's very few places to actually go when orange eyes, devoid of all emotions, are locked on him. He swallows hard, missing the others, when...

"No!" Monodramon somehow regroups and tackles the strange creature, sending him to the ground and the two brawl, claws slashing and risking many fatal blows as Mike stands helplessly, watching on. Guilmon X Antibody is down, snarling and trying to get into position attack Monodramon, when he opens his jaws wide, preparing to delete the other Digimon, but there's a flash of white and he stops short, blinking in confusion. "Mike move!" he orders his partner through gritted teeth.

"No," Mike says, staring at Guilmon. "You're not like the others," he tells him. "What happened to you isn't natural." He hesitates and looks over at Monodramon. "Maybe we can help him...?"

"How?" his partner demands, not understanding what Mike means. "I don't understand, Mike. Of course he's like the others, he attacked us for nothing. That's not normal."

"I just... feel it, somehow. He's not... he's not corrupted like the Digimon we've dealt with up to now. I don't know how to explain it, I just know..." Guilmon looks less than pleased with this determination of his character, claws lighting up with fresh flames as he storms towards Mike and Monodramon but, before either can do anything, there's a blinding flash of light and Mike swallows hard as he tracks it with his eyes, immediately drawn towards it. There's a small crater in some rocks not that far away and he digs his hand into it, ignoring the ingrained fear that his hand might get stuck inside of it, fingers brushing against something hard and sharp. He holds onto it, however, and pulls it free after wriggling more of his hand inside.

He's just pulled it out when realization of what it is washes over him- a digimental like what had saved them all back on earth all of those months ago when Wade's partner had accomplished reaching the Nefertimon level. He swallows hard and turns sharply to look at Monodramon, his eyes lighting up when it grows bright in his hands, working together with his Digivice to propel his partner into a new Digivolution.

Data streaming away, he reforms into a short pink creature with ears that span almost all of his body and seem to end in hearts, his body mostly white, except for his ears and wings, with red gloves and boots. "Monodramon armor digivolve to... Pucchimon," he cries out. "The fairy of mercy!" Mike's lips part in shock as Pucchimon, already so different in demeanor from Monodramon, turns towards him. "It's going to be ok, Mike. I understand what you mean now," he says soothingly. Sidestepping another flame attack from Guilmon, Pucchimon turns and faces him. "Everything will be fine now," he tells the other Digimon. "I understand now." Holding his gloved paw out towards the advancing creature once more, he seems to almost be singing as he calls out, "Heartner Beam!" Hearts blast from his hand and circle the Digimon before impacting with him, Mike bracing himself for the digimon's verbal response to such a painful looking attack.

Instead... instead... when he cries out, it seems more of emotional pain than physical and Mike shudders at the pure turmoil in that sound. "What's happening?" he whispers, wanting nothing more than to cover his ears and not have to hear this.

"I'm purifying him," Pucchimon explains quietly, voice barely audible over the Digimon's cries. "He's been injected with X Antibody, like you figured, and it made him aggressive to the point of bloodlust. This will, hopefully, fix him, rid him of the toxin."

"We've dealt with X Antibody Digimon before, but I'm not sure what it is," Mike tells his partner lowly.

"Good question," the fairy digimon says with a soft sigh. "I'm not sure myself... perhaps Luke will know more." They fall silent when Guilmon collapses, his body shorting out a few times before stabilizing, his skin turning a lighter shade of red, other minor changes happening to his form as the drug leaves his system. "He should be fine now."

But before they can celebrate this victory, a gold ball flutters in front of Mike and he swallows, staring at it. Drawn to it like he had been with the digimental, he reaches out and wraps his fingers around it, his surroundings immediately disappearing. Everything is dark, quiet, and he starts to panic, thinking he'd died, but then there's a slow growing golden gleam somewhere in the distance and he swallows.

"Do not worry," a voice, echoing slightly, greets him. "You are safe. I assure you, I'm not here to harm you. I have been watching you and the other Digidestined since the moment you were brought to the Digiworld. The others are clearly lacking, but since seeing you with Pucchimon and what you have done for Guilmon, my best option is obvious. I am Shakamon and I have been waiting for this moment for a long time."

Mike gapes, trying to speak, but nothing comes out when he tries. He finally quiets, flummoxed by this, and listens for more to be said.

"I will be seeing you soon, Mike Mizanin."

And just like that, it's all over. He's waking up reaching out for something that's not there anymore, his alarm clock buzzing relentlessly from next to the bed. "What the _hell?I"_ If not for the digimental sitting serenely by his digivice, he'd have no doubt that this had been a dream. When he touches it, it forms another bright flash of light before floating into the digivice as if it'd always belonged there.

"Great! How am I supposed to focus on Santa's Little Helpers now?!"


	58. chapter 58

Dolph hasn't had a good night. He was busted open, then lost to Sheamus. Although he had gotten some vengeance for himself and Zack after all that Sheamus had done to them, the injury and loss eats at him. Not to mention how close to his eye the stitches are, sending pain stabbing down his nose every time he moves his eyebrows.

Zack is being annoyingly diligent after everything and, normally Dolph would be touched, but he's just cranky and wants to be annoyed so, after Luke turns his attention away, Dolph sneaks away and checks the map on his Digivice, following the button guiding him towards someone in need of help. _Can't help myself, I can at least do this,_ he grouses.

He's looking for the village that the map seems to be directing him towards when... "Uh, Dolph," Impmon says from his feet.

"What?" he demands. Impmon hadn't said a thing up to this point because of Dolph's foul mood so why he's speaking now, ZIggler's not sure... until he looks down and realizes something is exploding against his ankles. He frowns, realizing that it's nothing more than bubbles, leaving wet imprints on his jeans. "What the hell?"

Impmon is looking behind him so he turns too and finds a small, green Digimon staring at them evilly, the bubbles intensifying before it bounds forward and wraps around his face. He freezes and gapes at the darkness, trying to breathe through this binding hold on him. Reaching up, he snags the Digimon and pulls him back, shocked at how much of a struggle it is as the baby creature flails in his hands. "Um, is he...?"

Impmon nods soberly. "It appears so." As Dolph kneels down so Impmon can get a better look at the little guy, more bubbles pop against his face and upper arms. "Yes, he is." They both stare down soberly at him. "We can't leave him like this, he'll Digivolve and grow stronger... we should handle it now."

"Dammit, because tonight's not bad enough, now we have to destroy babies," Dolph breathes, staring at him.

"Well, there is one thing," Impmon hesitates. "If it works. I need to Digivolve."

"Do it," Dolph says, watching as Impmon glows, then grows. Wizardmon is standing before him and he breathes. "What are you planning on?"

"I perhaps can use my Thunder Ball attack to reformat his data," Wizardmon says. "But I'm not sure if he's strong enough to withstand it..."

"We have to try," Dolph tells him. "His deleting because we were trying to help feels a little better than us just deleting him without trying something else."

Wizardmon nods and holds his staff out towards the baby Digimon. "This won't harm you, Dolph, just hold him as still as you can." The light that comes from Wizardmon's staff is warm, and bright, and it almost feels like the sun as the baby creature squirms and cries out, his entire body glowing and shuddering.

Dolph and Wizardmon both hold their breath until the light fades and the little Digimoni squeaks, sinking into Dolph's arms as all fight leaves him. Dolph strokes him and whispers, "Now what?"

Wizardmon shakes his head. "Give him a minute, he's been through a lot."

Finally Pipimon stirs and looks up at him, his eyes bright and soft. "Pipi," he intones sweetly.

"I think it worked," Dolph breathes. "Did it?"

Wizardmon takes the baby creature from Dolph and examines him. "I believe so," he says. "After all, he's not attacking us with bubbles anymore." He squeezes the little Digimon in a hug. "Let's take him back to his village. I think we're about done here."

Dolph nods, following them. After Pipimon continues to act alright around his fellow Digimon, they take their leave and return to Luke's mountain.

Zack spots him first, looking far from pleased. "Where have you been, bro?" he demands tensely.

"I was babysitting," Dolph says with a wry grin. "Sorry I worried you, kid, but I'm fine. I promise."

Zack eyes him suspiciously before shrugging. "Next time, think about taking me, huh? We never know what could happen next here..."

Dolph nods. "I know, kid. You're right." This makes Zack grin a little and Dolph squeezes his shoulder. "Let's find the others and go home. I need ice."

"Your face hurting, bro?"

"No, I need a drink and your budlight limes are disgusting warm." Zack looks unimpressed while Dolph laughs at him, his pain forgotten for a short while.


	59. chapter 59

After retaining his title at Payback, Seth is on top of the world. Yes, for a minute, he had tried to put together a Shield reunion, the triple powerbomb _almost_ leaving him nostalgic for his brothers, but they had quickly squashed any thoughts of that nature by attacking him. Not that he cared; in the end, the match had concluded properly. Even better, he hadn't seen Orton since. Yes, Dean and Roman had continued being thorns in his side, but it's not that big of a deal. He has the Authority and J &J Security by his side, it's enough.

Miz is still filming, which leaves them with six Digidestined. Seth is walking ahead of them all, leading them towards the flashing light on the map directing them to danger, when he stops short, an uncomfortable feeling itching down his spine. Gritting his teeth, he turns and glowers at the others. Zack and Dolph are laughing over something on their phones and Wade and Heath are bickering about something stupid, Alicia laughing at them. Seeing everyone getting along fine eats away at him and he plants his feet. "EXCUSE ME!" he barks at them. They all stop short and gape at him. "If you could stop playing like little children and focus, we're close to the trouble indicated on the map so unless you all _want_ to die..."

None of them look thrilled being spoken to like that but he's their leader, and on top of that, they know he's right- they've all seen too many messed up things since becoming Digidestined to allow distractions now to cause something else horrible to happen. So they trudge on, quiet, watchful. The blip on the map is overtaken by their own markers, Seth holding his breath as he stands in one place, turning slowly in a circle to look for something, anything, that would constitute their presence being needed. It seems quiet enough, almost peaceful, really, and it does nothing but put him on even more of a paranoid edge.

The others seem jittery and uncomfortable too, looking for trouble... when Seth notices. A distinct shadow is forming over all of them, growing larger with each passing second. He stares at it, thinking the shape is familiar, before turning to look at the others. "RUN!" he yells at them, relieved when they scatter, leaving the general area of the shadow. But his taking the time to warn them leaves him in danger and before he or Betamon can do anything, he feels his feet leave the ground as a large paw grips him and lifts him up. He squirms and hisses, not liking how large white claws are digging into his torso, when he comes face to face with the Digimon. "I know you," he grits out, staring into the creature's dark eyes.

"No," the Giga WaruMonzaemon snarls. "You knew my brother, your little group destroyed him, took him from me... so I will happily return the favor." His claws start to pierce Seth's flesh through his clothes and he whimpers, shaking his head. "But it will be slow, tortorous," he tells him. Seth thinks the others are trying to work together, put together an attack, but there's no time. No chance... "Giga Heartbreak Attack!"

It feels like his heart is being torn to shreds in his chest. He can barely breathe, the emotional pain is so great. Worse than that, when he closes his eyes against it all he can see is Dean's expression, full of betrayal and shock, and Roman's, anger and disgust. He had pretended that everything at Payback had meant nothing, but he was lying. Those few minutes, he had been so happy at the thought that, despite the things he'd done and said, they were willing to forgive him, put it aside, even if just for now. But it had all come to an end so soon... He shudders and goes limp in Giga WaruMonzaemon's hold, tears pouring down his face. He thinks he can hear the others, blasts impacting the back of the Digimon, but none of it matters. His pain is too great.

He doesn't even mind when he hits the ground, or when Giga WaruMonzaemon screams overhead, Mammothmon and Nefertimon working together to hold him down until Lilymon, Darcmon and Wizardmon can combine their attacks to dispatch of him completely. His data rains down upon Seth, but he barely even flinches as Betamon runs up to him, laying a paw lightly on his shoulder. All he can do is lay there and cry over lost opportunities, lost brothers and the guilt of being the catalyst of all of it. With the swing of a chair, he'd given himself everything he'd ever wanted professionally but destroyed everything else meaningful in his world.

"Guys, something's really wrong," Betamon breathes out, sounding horribly worried. But even then, Seth can't find the strength to get up, respond, ease his partner. Eventually, hands grip his arms and drags him upright, his face shadowed by his hair and hopefully blocking some of the fresh tears from view as Zack and Wade work together to walk him back towards the portal to take him back to Luke's.

He's aware of nothing going on around him until he's back on earth, Wade now guiding him alone through the halls of the arena they'd been returned to once Luke had been contented with their story. He hears a chair scrape against the tiled floor, familiar steps rambling towards them and then...

"What's wrong, did wittle Sethy stub his toe?" It's Dean. Of course, only he would bother to mock Seth. Most people ignore him, but not Dean, not Roman. They still get in his face, challenge him, his actions. The Authority doesn't matter to them.

He looks up and their eyes lock, Dean's eyes widening in surprise when he catches sight of Seth's blotchy, miserable face. He only has a moment to register this before Seth lurches forward and hugs him, immediately soaking his shirt with tears. "I'm sorry," he mumbles. "I'm so sorry."

Dean is frozen, for once speechless, when there's a sharp flash of light and a device, also glowing, shoots towards him and lands in his outstretched hand, his fingers instinctively closing around it. "What... the... hell?" he demands, Seth still sobbing into his chest as the device stabilizes, the glow fading into nothingness. He looks up at Wade for answers, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Looks like you're a new Digidestined," Wade intones, unimpressed with everything that's happened in the last minute. "Welcome to the bloody awful club." Smirking darkly, he then turns and leaves Dean with even more questions than he had a moment earlier.


	60. chapter 60

"Where is it?!" Seth demands, gripping Dean by the collar, shaking him. "Where is the damn title belt at, you no good lowdown thief?"

Ambrose smirks at him with that infuriatingly aggravating look in his cool blue eyes, so many thoughts racing around in that lunatic mind of his that even he can't keep track of them all. "So, " he says simply, breaking free of Seth's hold and walking towards the other Digidestined scattered around, watching them. "If Seth was your leader while he was champion, I guess that means I should be your new leader since I'm now the champion..."

"That's not how it works," Miz says, staring at himself in the screen of his Digivice. "Luke chooses our leader, and if he's going to choose anyone to be Rollins' replacement, it clearly will be me."

Immediately a slew of voices cut in, arguing against this claim. Dean is forgotten for now as he leans down and picks up Lunamon, staring into her eyes. "Well, you're cute, ain't ya?"

Wade turns and glares at him. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" He grabs Lunamon and holds her possessively before turning to yell at Mike some more.

Dean shrugs and stares down at his Digivice. He still doesn't understand half of this, Seth calming down from his mental breakdown enough to actually explain _some_ things before remembering they currently hate each other and leaving him to sink or swim on his own. Because of this, he's yet to meet his partner. He shakes the device, wondering if it'll be enough, when a new voice joins the cacophony.

"CHILDREN!" It must be the man named Luke, considering how the others immediately fall quiet and turn to stare at him. "Hello, then." He turns to Dean. "You are our new Digidestined. Welcome to the group. I assume you're wondering where your partner is at. Since you were a last minute decision, when I realized that more Digidestined were needed, I had no time to transport your partner to earth with the device. Allow me to rectify that. Dean, meet Petitmon."

He steps aside and Dean sees a small blue creature with horns and tiny wings that flap when he sees Dean, sending him off of the ground a few inches. "Well, look at you," Dean mutters, dropping to his knees as his new partner hops up to him, eyes locked on his. "Hello." The others continue bickering amongst themselves while he holds his partner and examines him. "Kinda weird, ain't ya? But that's ok, I am too." The little Digimon nuzzles into him and he smiles.

Luke finally gets the other Digidestined to shut up and carry on figuring out the latest mission, the group of them walking through what they call the Virus sector, when Petitmon starts to whimper. Before anyone could say anything- "ERASE CLAW!"

Dean scrambles, gaping as the ground is deleted under his feet, catering all around them. He regains his balance, squeezing Petitmon tightly. The others are struggling too but for whatever reason, the tall android Digimon has set his sights on Dean, one claw poking way too close to Petitmon, who tries to defend themselves by throwing a ball of flames at his face.

He tosses it aside, however, and aims his sharp claw towards Petitmon, clearly planning on deleting him, when-

"ICE BLAST!" The attack is huge, it freezes Dean's arm a little as its intensity wears off, Cyberdramon's bdoy giving to the chilly attack, the evil creature deleting as abruptly as he'd arrived.

Dean looks up as the lengthy sea creature sneering down at him before he realizes- Seth is nearby, Seth has his Digivice in hand as a stream of power comes from the Digimon and it slowly returns to a smaller size- Betamon. Seth stares at him coolly. "Welcome to the Digiworld," he says. "Don't say I never did anything for you."

He turns on his heel, Dean watching him go, absolutely understanding nothing of what Seth's done the past few weeks. He sighs and shakes his head, turning to follow the group back to the portal to return them to Luke. He's not sure what to think about the Digiworld, but he's pretty sure he'll come to enjoy it with time.

His smirk grows.


	61. chapter 61

"A beach, bro!" Zack exclaims, laughing as they approach the place on the map that they're being led to.

Dolph rolls his eyes and follows Zack into the sand, keeping an eye out. "Yeah, kid, but this isn't like earth. We're not here to tan or stare at hot chicks. We're here to look for whatever's causing our Digivices to go nuts like this." It's true, even more than usual. Their devices keep flashing and vibrating in their hands, all of them jerking when the reactions only grew in intensity the closer to the beach they'd gotten.

"I know that, bro," he huffs, ignoring him as he kicks his shoes off and wriggles his toes in the sun-kissed sand. Patamon flutters down to the ground and starts shifting his paws around in the warmth as well, when- He freezes and stares down in confusion.

"What is it?" Dolph asks, barely noticing the look on Zack's face out of the corner of his eye as he continues to search the surrounding area for whatever their devices are trying to alert them to.

"There's something..." He continues brushing the sand away with his feet, trying to see something when Dolph rolls his eyes. "I'm not kidding, there is!"

"You always do this," he tells him. "You act like you've found some buried treasure in the sand, and then-" His words die away abruptly as sharp weapons shaped almost like knives bursts through the ground, racing towards Zack. "KID!" Dolph dives, only just tackling Zack out of the way in time as the glinting devices embed in the ground. He grunts and buries his face in Zack's neck for a minute before pulling away and sitting up, looking down at his best friend. "Son of a bitch, kid, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," he grunts, wiping some blood off of his arm. "Thanks bro. If you hadn't moved so quickly, I might not have..."

"No problem," Dolph tells him, not wanting to think about the _what ifs_. He had been there, Zack is fine except for some scrapes up his arm, and that's all that matters. Or at least it would be if not for the Digimon still hiding in the sand, a fresh wave of weapons flashing out towards them. This time Zack moves faster, rolling them over and pressing Dolph's head down to keep him away from the tentacle like things that just miss them.

"I think we're even now, bro," he breathes heavily, peering over his shoulder. "Patamon!"

"On it! Bubble blow!" he cries, attacking the ground with wet bubbles that explodes and soaks the sand while Impmon backs him up, blowing sand away with fireballs. They don't succeed at finding the creature responsible, but their actions do work well enough at holding the evil Digimon at bay and allowing their partners time to regroup.

Zack pulls Dolph to his feet, the two of them gripping their Digivices tightly. "Digivolution time?"

"Yeah," Dolph agrees. "Guys, you know what to do."

"Yessir," Impmon calls back. As the warm light of Digivolution washes over them, Zack and Dolph see it- something purple writhing under the grains of pale yellow. They exchange glances but there's no time to say anything, Wizardmon and Darcmon land side by side but before either could do anything, the painful tentacles return and pierce through Darcmon midsection, leaving him limp at the end of their sharp barbs.

"NO! DARCMON!" Zack yells, running forward to help his partner. Dolph watches on in horror as more tentacles come from the sand and tangle around Zack's body, lifting him up a few feet off of the ground while squeezing tightly. He gasps and chokes, barely able to breathe, and Dolph starts to move, not sure how he'd help but knowing he needs to do something, when...

"ELECTRO SQUALL!" There's an intense lightning bolt, it strikes the ground where the tentacles appear to lead... there's an unGodly squeech and then the tentacles release their quarries, disappearing back into the sand. Zack thankfully had only been a little off of the ground, but he still struggles when he lands, fighting for each breath. But this is only short lived as realization comes across him and he scrambles over the sand, by Darcmon's side when he Dedigivolves to his baby form, a pink creature with no true dicernible features except for a scary amount of sharp looking teeth and soft wispy ears.

He hugs the young digimon close to him and thanks anything and everything he can think of that his partner wasn't deleted and reformatted like Ricardo's all of those months ago when they had little to no clue what they were doing, the consequences. "Thank you for fighting so hard," he tells his partner, lightly kissing the baby Digimon's forehead. "Now what is your name?"

"Tokomon," he intones shyly.

Wizardmon is still on the evil Digimon's track, sending more lightning bolts until finally, thankfully, data streams up from a crater in the sand. "It's all over, Chrysalimon," he declares, readying one more attack. "Accept your fate..." It's clear when it's over, the subtle dark vibe in the area fades away with the digimon's data

Impmon, upon dedigivolving, walks up to Tokomon and pokes him lightly, grinning when the baby creature snaps at him with his impressive teeth. The four of them return to Luke's area, unsurprised to find that they're the first back. Dolph glances at Zack before turning to their guide. "Hey, Luke, we've been wondering... alright if I ask you a question?"

Luke crosses his arms over his chest and raises his eyebrows at them. "What is it?"

"Why did you separate us this time? We've kinda gotten used to working together as a group," Dolph comments. "It makes it easier if we get overwhelmed, to have enough people just in case. But with just two of us, there's always the risk of things going very wrong... so what are we doing?"

Luke smirks. "I suppose it best if I explain once everyone else is back."

Dolph stares at him, glancing over at Zack. "Great," he mumbles.


	62. chapter 62

Alicia Fox peeks over at Miz as they walk side by side through a jungle, heading for the nearest distress beacon on their Digivices. Palmon and Monodramon are walking quietly nearby, all of them focused on what's ahead. It's weird, only being the two of them, and she wonders what Luke is up to when Palmon twists her green arm around Alicia's leg, stopping her short. "I smell smoke," she says, dark eyes locked in the distance.

Alicia and Mike turn sharply and look, realizing what she means. The trees are burning, wilting, as fire licks towards them. Neither of their Digimon have any sort of control over water, causing both of them to hesitate as they ponder what to do. "Never thought I'd wish Seth or Wade were here, but here we are," Mike comments, holding his Digivice out to Monodramon. Alicia follows suit and before long Kiwimon and Strikedramon stand, ready for a fight when there's a bloodcurdling scream that causes them all to flinch... before a dark shadow appears out of the burning trees and starts flittering around Kiwimon and Strikedramon. "What is that?!" Alicia cries out, watching as it swoops in, attacks, and swoops out. Data begins raining across the ground in cruel puddles and she begins to worry as Kiwimon struggles just to stand after a couple strikes by the shadowy creature.

"It's a spirit," Strikedramon's just explained when he takes a shot clear across the head, draining more data from him and leaving him unconscious on the ground.

"STRIKEDRAMON!" Mike cries out, trying to run to his partner but Alicia grabs him, digging her nails into his arm. "Let go!"

"No," she snaps back at him. "That thing... could kill one of us if we got too close. It's already draining our partners of data. We have to be smart about this!" She's struggling to think, her Digivice held tightly. "Kiwimon! Digivolve!" The spirit continues to circle but the light from the Digivolution seems to work at holding it at bay until Lilimon appears, fluttering around prettily. She swats it away from Strikedramon's limp form and Alicia nods, breathing a little easier.

"FLOWER CANNON!" Lilimon holds her hands together and blasts the spirit with solar energy, destroying it, and then Mike runs over to Strikedramon, holding him. "We're not done," the ultimate digimon comments, her beady eyes peering around. "I sense the creature who summoned the spirit... they're watching us..."

"That's comforting," Alicia sighs, leaning down to check on Strikedramon, who is finally starting to stir under Mike's hand. She's just touched him when...

"Alicia!" There's a flash of heat, a blast of light, and Alicia finds herself laying on the ground, Mike covering her with his body. "Stay down," he tells her, teeth gritted. "They're throwing fireballs now..." She sees it streaking through the sky while laying there, and releases a ragged breath, struggling to spot Lilimon from her sprawled position.

The flashes of light, she figures, has to be from Lilimon's flower cannon, but she's a plant type Digimon- very little defense against flames... "Lilimon!" she cries out, trying to squirm out from under Mike. "Let me go! I need to make sure she's going to be ok."

But Mike doesn't move, staring down at her. "All you'll do is distract her and get you both killed. Please, stop fighting me, I'm just giving her her best chance at winning by keeping you safe..." Alicia goes still then and he watches as tears pour down her face. "Shakamon, where the hell are you now?"

"What was that?" she sniffs, but he shakes his head and they resume listening to the battle raging on out of their sight. It only seems like seconds when there's a crash of a body against the ground not far from where they're laying, with force enough to shake Strikedramon where he's laying. "Lilimon!"

But no, it's not her partner sprawled out a few feet away- it's another Kyubimon, the graceful fox laying there twitching as it struggles to its feet once more. But Lilimon is faster, stronger, and quickly has it drowning in pink dust that appears to be draining it of strength. When it can just barely make it to its feet, legs shaking under its weight, she holds her hands out to it and waves them in a circle, a wreath surrounding Kyubimon's throat. Strangely enough, it helps. The digimon stops writhing around, laying calmly down for a few minutes.

Mike rolls off of Alicia and they stand, approaching the Digimon hesitantly. "You fixed her," Alicia says in awe, staring down at the creature. "Why do we get so many Kyubimon affected by this darkness anyway?"

"They're a mythical creature," Lilimon says somberly. "Taomon, not to mention Sakuyamon after her, is an impressively powerful Digimon that many of us have been in awe of since young. So of course their kind is targetted a lot. Anyone would want to control them."

Alicia shakes her head, leaning down to stroke Kyubimon's muzzle, abruptly missing AJ. "Well, at least she seems ok now."

"It won't last," Lilimon says tiredly. "My power isn't infinite, her data's still compromised. As soon as my wreath disappears, she will return to the destructive creature she was a few minutes ago." She stares at Alicia, who looks suddenly stricken. "You know what that means."

"Yes," she says through frozen lips. "We can't let her remain like this."

"Sadly," Lilimon confirms reluctantly. "She'll be reborn as pure as she was before her data was compromised, I promise, Alicia."

"Then do it," she urges her, rubbing her fingers through Kyubimon's soft, peach fur once more before standing up and walking away so she doesn't have to watch while Flower Cannon puts an end to the poor digimon's suffering. Mike walks up behind her and she closes her eyes. "We need to find the cause behind this... Luke said it was something that just started getting worse, right? There has to be a reason..."

Mike watches her for a moment. "Alright," he says quietly. "We'll go talk to Luke about what he thinks, if he can give us any clues to why and how this is happening."

When Lilimon returns to them, dedigivolving back to Palmon, Alicia hugs her tightly. "We're going to fix this," she declares. "We're going to make your world better, Palmon. I promise."


	63. chapter 63

Alicia is quiet while they walk back towards Luke's base, somber. Mike can't blame her but he's not sure they're alone, and he'd rather she be at the top of her game than lost in another world, where trouble could kick in at any time and she'd been too delayed to be any real help. Palmon seems to notice as well, but she keeps to herself and allows Alicia to remain trapped in her thoughts, Mike's displeasure growing with each passing second.

Monodramon keeps his thoughts to himself, the silence as stifling as the heat of the sun gleaming down upon them. Mike sips from a bottle of water that he'd brought from earth, stuffing it back in the bag of supplies they'd all started to bring just in case, when he sees something out of the corner of his eye that makes him spit his drink back out. Since meeting Shakamon for real, he had seen many signs of the Digimon- a golden gleam, a strange pair of eyes staring at him. He wonders what the powerful Digimon thinks of Alicia's declaration of ending what's been happening in the Digiworld- if he would support it or find it to be something going against his bigger image.

It takes until Mike catches his breath, wondering if perhaps he was seeing something for once, for Alicia to look over at him, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "What is it?"

Her voice seems to come out of nowhere, making him jump all over again and he squeaks when he tries to speak. "Nothing! Er, I mean, nothing. Just thought I saw something." But the longer she stares at him, the more he's certain he wasn't seeing things. There _was_ another eldery Digimon staring at them- more likely, at him- but not Shakamon. He frowns and rubs absently at his arms, trying to work away the goose pimples that had taken over his flesh.

Monodramon notices that there's still a problem but he keeps his thoughts to himself, following Mike closely, keeping an eye out for anything else strange. Which comes sooner than either expect when a tranquil looking creature appears before them, eyeing Mike closely. It's as if Alicia or the two Digimon don't exist, his every attention on the male Digidestined. "Shakamon is an amusing creature," he says simply, his voice soft but deep. "I enjoy his style. Yes indeed..." Where the sword comes from, no one's sure, but it stops Mike in his tracks as it pokes against his nose, close to slicing through the delicate bit of flesh.

Mike yelps but can't find it in him to move away, not sure where the sword might be directed next. "Who are you?"

"Ochi Musyamon," the creature says, almost boredly. "An honor to meet you."

Mike and Alicia exchange glances before turning back to him. "Ok, but why are you interrupting us?"

"I wished to meet Shakamon's chosen face to face," Ochi Musyamon says with a glimmer of something in his eye. Both Mike and Alicia notice it but it's gone too quickly for either to really get a read on _what_ emotion just crossed his face. "He's expecting great things from you, Digidestined of Light."

Mike gapes at him. Turns and stares at Alicia. Mouths wordlessly for a few moments before finding the words. "Me?"

"Yes, you," Ochi Musyamon blandly states. "I told Shakamon you would probably be more overwhelmed with being chosen by him than being selected to be a Digidestined. But does he ever listen? Of course not..." He smirks, stepping closing to Mike. "No worries. You'll see much more of us over the next while. We'll prepare you for what's to come. You will become one of our greatest allies."

Before Mike can say anything else, he disappears as quickly as he'd arrived. "Did I just hallucinate that?"

"Not unless I did too," Alicia mumbles, eyes wide. "What _was_ that? And who is Shakamon?"

Mike curses, realizing that he hadn't told anyone about _that_. "Come on," he says awkwardly, casting a glance around the immediate area. "Let's continue onto Luke's and I'll tell you what little I know about it..."


	64. chapter 64

Things had seemed quiet at first. Peaceful, even. That should've been their first sign. But Zack and Dolph had been lost in conversation about NXT and Dolph's stand up shows and only the Digimon had noticed a change in the atmosphere around them. By the time they had their human partners' focus, it was too late. Multiple blasts of lightning strikes at their feet, sending them all flying backwards. "Zack!" Patamon cries.

"Dolph," Impmon hisses, turning to look for the creature responsible. When he spots it, he freezes. "You..."

Patamon reacts in much the same way, his ears drooping as he floats helplessly to the ground, staring at the creature before them. "Cherubimon," he murmurs, barely able to look into the corrupted Digimon's face. "What happened to you?"

There's no sensible response, just more pure power gleaming from his massive paws as he looms over them, the dark evil on his face leaving both rookie digimon shuddering. Once so pure and good, he's now clearly demented and eager to destroy everything in his path. Lightning streams from the sky, shooting towards them when they're tackled away, the ground scorching where the bolts strike. Cherubimon snarls, turning towards where Zack and Dolph had recovered in time to tackle their partners to safety.

"Digivolve," they tell their partners together, watching the rapid chain of evolution as Patamon grows into Hippogriffomon and Impmon morphs into Wisemon, Zack's partner now flying around the wizard-type Digimon. Whatever momentum they have, however, fails when Cherubimon laughs darkly, seeming unimpressed by them. Zack and Dolph exchange uncertain glances but it's too late to change their attack strategy, such as it is, when Hippogriffomon rushes at the much larger creature, Wisemon behind him.

"Sonic voice!" Hippogriffimon attempts, squeeching out something awful that shoots off waves of energy, Wisemon floating up behind him on his book and waving his hands, using his control of time and space to repeat Hippogriffomon's attacks again and again, blasting Cherubimon back a few steps.

Before long, however, the attacks fade into nothing and Cherubmon snarls at them. The lightning storm that follows slams down all around HIppogriffomon and Wisemon, stabbing through the book and their bodies, leaving them twitching and sizzling on the ground, nearly seizing from the intensity of it all.

"No!" Zack and Dolph cries as one, only succeeding in attracting Cherubimon's attention. He sneers at them and approaches, leaning down and reaching out for them with one massive fist. Dolph pushes Zack forward, trying to get away, but there's no time. They're both held tightly in his fist within moments. It's hard to breathe, hard to see, hard to focus. They're dangling limply as Cherubimon lifts them up and stares dispassionately at them both. "No," Zack groans, his head falling back against the fingers of the mega level digimon. "Please no..."

Dolph is limp, seemingly unconscious, and Zack worries about his past with concussions, before turning his attention back to the Digimon who is now face to face with him, examining him. "You weak human," he says slowly, as if each word hurts him. "I will kill all of you." His free hand lifts, a lightning bolt growing in size and intensity on the tip of his finger, the power and control even more scary than anything else Zack's seen.

Hippogriffimon is still struggling, but Wisemon is conscious. Floating slowly back into place on his book of time and space. Zack struggles to look away from the lightning bolt that is approaching his midsection, relieved for a moment that Cherubimon is focusing on him and leaving an already unconscious Dolph alone. But it doesn't stop the reality- this bolt of lightning will soon be stabbing through his chest, and he more likely than not will die... He closes his eyes and tries to find Dolph somewhere in the tight grip that Cherubimon has them in. Only manages to find Dolph's fingers, squeezing them, when...

"PANDORA DIALOGUE!" Wisemon cries, controling everything carefully and stopping the lightning bolt just inches from Zack's upper body. Time slows, the bolt of lightning disappearing before Zack's very eyes, leaving only an after-glow imprinted in his vision, before time seems to speed back up and the attack stabs through the sky before implanting into Cherubimon's furry back, through his body. He screams in pain and arches away from the devastating attack, data raining down upon them.

"Heat Wave!" Hippogriffomon yells out, sending out blasts with high levels of heat from his mouth. They muse with the lightning bolt tip and Cherubimon's screams turn more desperate, almost... normal sounding, when he flickers pure, pink and soft, before turning black and purple once more. It doesn't last, however, as the effect of his attack, Wisemon's control of time, and the heat making the lightning bolt even more unstable causes the elemental attack to pulse, close to exploding. The pain stabbing through his chest and midsection is enough to make him drop the men, Wisemon acting quickly to slow time around them, make their descent onto a waiting Hippogriffomon nearly like floating.

They've only just landed on the ground safely when Cherubimon lifts his head and cries out terribly, more data streaming from his wounds. When he deletes, it's a relief to all of them, the quiet and peace strange to them after so much activity. Dolph releases a shaky breath, just to realize that Zack's still holding onto him. He coughs faintly, glancing down pointedly, and Zack quickly releases his hand. "Let's get out of here."

"Yeah, let's."


	65. chapter 65

Wade and Heath are walking quietly through a mountainous region of the virus sector, Lopmon and Lunamon lounging on their heads and keeping an eye out for the problems their Digivices are trying to lead them to. Wade expects Heath to get bored at any moment, and-

The humming begins. He sighs in exasperation but merely rolls his eyes, almost glad for the sound, no matter how off-key and repetitive it is. It at least is _something_ to listen to. Lunamon giggles from where she's resting in Wade's dark hair, trying to look innocent when his partner huffs at her. Wade's trying to remember what song it is that Heath's humming, exactly, close enough to the tune that he feels like he should _know_ it after so many years of traveling with him, but yet he can't quite place it.

He's about to break the verbal silence by turning to ask Heath what song it is when Lunamon tenses. "Wade, there's a shadow-" She's barely finished speaking when Wade sees it, is covered by it as it seems to fly over him and- "HEATH!" Lunamon and he cry out at the same time.

Lopmon goes rolling as a massive, four legged Digimon tackles Heath down, snarling and drooling all over the startled ginger. The creature is pure black, with hideous claws and a horrifying looking tail whipping at the ground but that's not the worst part... When Wade turns, he meets dead looking, black eyes, but the creature's face is still turned towards Heath, his teeth uncomfortably close to Heath's face and... it takes him a minute to realize there are three heads on this beast.

"Oh my God," Lunamon breathes. "It's Cerberumon..." Wade looks over at her worriedly as she settles on his shoulder to get a closer look.

"He looks like a hellhound," he whispers. She nods sharply and that's all he needs to know to realize just how much trouble Heath's in. He only knows bits and pieces about the urban legends regarding hellhounds, and most of it that he _does_ know are all confused tales from the ridiculous TV shows that Heath has watched over the years.

Cerberumon opens his jaw as wide as it can go, clearly over the entire drooling and snarling phase and now just wanting to eat. Wade stares on, horrified and unsure how to help his former Nexus/Corre teammate. Finally he does the first thing he thinks of- races forward and punches the side of Cerberumon's nearest face, the blank eyes snapping onto him. "Let him go," he orders it, holding its gaze. "He's a ginger, he has no soul. You won't get filled up on _him_."

Cerberumon lunges up, all six of his eyes staring into Wade's face with an intensity that makes the British man's knees shake. He starts to back up as Cerberumon approaches him, noticing out of the corner of his eye as Lopmon crawls painfully towards Heath. Lunamon hops from his shoulder, a golden stream of light exploding from Wade's digivice as she Digivolves to Gatomon. She claws his face as she lands heavily onto the ground, but it only makes him snarl and snap a claw at her, sending her flying backwards.

"GATOMON!" he cries out, tripping over a branch as Cerberumon turns his attention back onto Wade. "Bloody hell..." He lands against the stony ridge of the mountain base behind him and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes. "Heath, Lopmon..." He can feel Cerberumon's breath on his face, hot and disgusting, and he shudders. He can just see over Cerberumon's shoulder as Gatomon struggles to stand, each movement, each breath clearly hurting her.

He laughs brokenly as his life flashes before his eyes, the matches and title reigns, his partnership with the various Corre and Nexus members, injuries and brutal defeats. All of the hours he'd spent with Heath, mocking and belittling him because he knew Heath could take it, wouldn't turn and run in the other direction, one of the few people he felt comfortable enough to be himself around. It had been impulsive and perhaps a bit stupid, attacking Cerberumon like that, but he hadn't been able to think of any other action that would've saved Heath. He releases a breath and smirks mirthlessly as the realization washes over him, something of a comfort even as the evil dog prepares to bite him. _He's my bloody best friend in the world, and I'd do just about anything for him._

He opens his cool blue eyes to stare into Cerberumon's murderous face. "More than anyone could ever say about you, isn't it?" He feels comfortable in this knowledge, squaring his shoulders against whatever may come... that at least, to one person, he was a good friend. He's just smiled in the face of death, literally, when his Digivice goes off again. Brighter than before, but it's not just his Digivice. The stone wall behind him is glowing bright enough to shine through his hand, and he watches in awe as it peels away, becomes a tablet that shrinks, fits into a crest-shape like he'd seen the others with. "No bloody way..."

But it is exactly what it looks like as the light and the power flows through him, past Cerberumon- effectively knocking him away from Wade- and to Gatomon, reviving her sufficiently. "Gatomon Digivolve to..." Her feline body fades away into data just to reform, grows in height and takes on a more human shape, a white flowing dress with golden fabric streaming down from her waist adorning her body. Rosary beads and a red scroll circles her arms as if she herself is calling upon them to grant her strength. Cool golden eyes flash from below a headdress that Wade can't help staring at, breathtaken with his new partner. "Sanzomon!" Her voice is rich, powerful. Not at all like Gatomon's softer, more girly tone.

"You, you Digivolved," he breathes in amazement, in awe of her.

She turns to look at him, careful to keep Cerberumon in the corner of her eye. "Yes, I did. Thanks to you and your realization of the meaning behind your actions." She smiles at him. "Self-awareness is the best kind of intelligence there is." Turning back to the viciously snarling Digimon, she raises a hand to him, her beads clattering and clicking. "You, unfortunately, are not like the creatures we've fought in the past. You do evil willingly... gladly, even. You came here with the sole purpose of destroying the Digidestined, and for that, I cannot allow you to live."

Cerberumon seems as captivated with her rosary beads as Wade is, eyes tracking their movement as she whispers something in a language Wade fails to understand. Whatever she says doesn't matter in the end as Cerberumon suddenly tenses, howling and swatting at thin air. Sanzomon continues to mutter, her words growing more and more intense with each passing second. Wade holds his breath as suddenly attack after attack comes out of seemingly nowhere and slams into Cerberumon, his body shattering into fine pieces of data before the last attack hits the ground where he'd stood, fizzling into nothing against the dirt.

"Wha- what was that?" Wade demands, staring up at his partner as she walks- more like floats- over to him, her beads flicking around her wrist.

She smiles at him sympathetically. "That was a recreation of every painful thing I've had to endure during my life. It is a brutal attack, and one I would only wish on those who deserve it. Cerberumon counts." Walking back over to him, she rests a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps you should check on Heath now."

His eyes widen as he remembers, turning to look at his unmoving friend. "Damn it, Slater!" Running over to the ginger, he falls to his knees next to him and pulls him up, noticing that Lopmon is a little more with it now, eyes wide with fear. "Come on, you bloody fool, open your eyes," he tells him. Voice softening slightly, he murmurs, "You have to see Sanzomon. She's bloody ridiculous, mate." Running his fingers through Heath's short hair, smoothing down the wayward strands, he closes his eyes. "You're not really going to let that overgrown mutt win, are you?"

Wade's face is tilted towards Heath's, each breath a struggle, when he hears, weak, faint, but definitely there... "Gingers do too have souls," Heath forces out, his eyes open only a sliver, but enough for Wade to see the light reflecting off of them.

He laughs and shakes his head, finally feeling like he can breathe again. "Of course you would hear that over everything else going on back there." Heath smiles wearily but doesn't make a move to say anything else, so Wade allows him to rest, still stroking his hair. He absently begins to hum what he thinks sounds like the song Heath was humming earlier, his eyes locked on Heath's pale face.

"Home," Heath mutters, and it finally clicks with Wade, the Staind song that Heath listens to so much to stay awake when he's driving.

"Yeah, mate. Home." He parts Heath's hair with his fingers and sighs. "We'll be there soon."


	66. chapter 66

When this madness of being a Digidestined and having to regularly go to the Digiworld had begun, Seth Rollins had been content in the fact that he was the designated leader. His success had exceeded beyond his abilities in the WWE world, to this world of data. But then the truth was revealed- he was a replacement leader, because CM Punk was to have that title until he'd left WWE unexpected early 2014. Seth had tried to ignore it, move past it and hold the group together as best as he could. Seadramon had even been the first to get to the next level of power, thanks to the Crest of Courage reacting to Seth's presence.

He had grown accustomed to the world, and its ever changing ways. But this situation... this he could not abide by. That after over a year of Seth learning, growing and becoming better at protecting the Digiworld and its inhabitants- and, in some small way, protecting the real world as well- a new Digidestined had to be selected after Ricardo Rodriguez, Alberto Del Rio and AJ Lee had all left. The one person he _hadn't_ expected to be chose for the group was his former brother. HIs former Shield mate. The bane of his existence for the last year, who had made his life a living hell... Dean Ambrose.

The man who had greeted them when they became Digidestined, Luke, had been determined that there be eight Digidestined, and the reason why became clear when he'd divided them into teams of two to clear out more problems happening around the Digiworld. Which would've been ok, except that Seth ended up teamed with... you guessed it, Dean. He stews over it, hating that out of everyone, he and Dean are the only ones teamed together who hate each other so thoroughly.

He grits his teeth as they walk a few feet away from each other, Seth's only relief being that Betamon is independent and can talk, while Dean's partner is still a baby and can only say the same thing over and over again- "Petit, Petit... petiiiiiiiiit..." He grimaces as the chatter continues on and on, the creature truly getting on his nerves. Worse than that is the fact that Dean continues to ramble on with him, moving his arms in that strange, blocky robotic style that gives Seth a headache every time.

Hand curling into a fist, he stops sharply and turns to glare at Dean. "STOP TALKING!" Dean skids to a stop, his eyes narrowing curiously as Seth glowers at him. "We are in this strange world, looking for dangerous whatever and you, neither of you will SHUT UP! I can't concentrate and I have a headache, so just... be quiet, dammit."

Dean smirks, pacing closer to Seth's side. "Aw, is widdle Sethy overwhelmed by his so-called leadership duties?" He wavers forward while walking, like he's drunk, and Seth steps backwards, watching him closely. "I can help with that, y'know... like I did with your title when I felt like you needed a break from it... Dean Ambrose, Digidestined leader, sounds pretty good to me."

"Your Digimon can't even walk on its own," Seth scoffs at him. "At least mine can walk and talk, attack and Digivolve. Yours barely even blows bubbles yet."

Dean is about to say something in response to this when there's a loud, raspy kind of throat clearing between them. Both of them stop short and look down as an aged Digimon, who looks suspiciously like an old man, walks between them. "Who are you?" Dean demands, losing his track of thought and a lot of his lunatic tendencies, though some of the nervous tics remain as he shuffles around, staring at the strange humanoid.

The old creature doesn't respond, staring up at Seth suspiciously before turning to Dean. "You are the leader of the Digidestined, yes? I have a message for you. Please follow me." He walks off, arms crossed behind his back, apparently not hearing Seth's protests and complaints.

Dean rolls his eyes and strokes under Petitmon's chin as he follows the other two, wondering what exactly _this_ is going to be.


	67. chapter 67

Despite Seth constantly saying that he's the leader of the Digidestined, the old Digimon that they are still following seems determined to treat Dean as such. He ignores Seth, focusing only on Dean, annoying the WWE World Champion more and more. "Where are we going?!" Seth finally demands, gripping him by the arm.

KIta Kitsunemon, who had introduced himself to Dean a few minutes earlier, turns to glare darkly at Seth. Despite his age and lack of understanding, he still seems formidable and Dean almost doesn't blame Seth for releasing him and backing away. "We are going to a place where you are needed," he says coolly. Glancing back at Dean, he nods and walks on. "This village has been targetted, and Digimon there are mysteriously falling ill. Some are even deleting because whatever is going on is so bad that there's not enough aid for all of them."

Dean listens, not entirely understanding, since he's relatively new to everything, but Petitmon makes a soft whimpering noise from where he's laying on his shoulder. Dean curls his hand around the baby Digimon, stroking and tapping the top of his head between his horns. "So what do we do? Look for the cause and see what we can do to help?"

"Yes," Kita Kitsunemon says serenely. "I will live you to it then."

Dean watches as he walks off, arms crossed behind his back. Seth gapes too before calling out, "Hey! Wait a minute, where are you going? You drag us here and then leave us to clean up your world's mess?" But he's out of sight already and Seth curses, looking down at Betamon.

"Stop bitching and let's go," Dean sighs, turning towards the village and entering it. It seems normal, if a little quiet, but then they hear the sounds of illness. Moaning creatures and the bustling attempts to take care of them. Dean turns and heads for the nearest building, where most of the noise is coming from, but Seth lags back and shakes his head, hating every second of this.

"Are we doing anything?" Betamon asks quietly, standing by Seth's side.

"No," he mumbles. "Ambrose can do whatever the hell he wants, but let's go see what we can find out here."

"Alright," his partner agrees, following him away from the houses.

Ambrose continues through, looking around. "Shoulda known Rollins would be too pathetic to come actually help," he mumbles. He taps his fingers against his leg as he walks, eyes narrowing as he walks inside. It's a mess inside, the air thick with streaming data of those who have already passed. "What is this?"

Before Petitmon can even blink, a Digimon bustles up to them, examining them. "You don't look sick."

"We're not," Dean says, staring at the human-type Digimon with flame-based clothes. "Who're you?"

"FlameWizardmon," he says. "If you're not ill, you should leave. This village is under attack, and it's taking everything we have to keep those in this room with us."

"I'm here to help," Dean says. "I'm a Digidestined."

FlameWizardmon freezes, looks from Dean to Petitmon and swallows. "You are?" This seems to change things. All of a sudden, he grips Ambrose and ushers him into the room where all of the sick Digimon are languishing, Dean stopping short to stare at the rows of beds and cots. "We need you to find the cause, before others are affected. We don't have the supplies or help we need to help _these_ digimon, if more come... we can't handle it. Please."

Dean nods. "Sure, yeah, we'll try to sort it out." He hesitates and looks back at the moaning creatures. "Is there anything we can do in here first?"

FlameWizardmon shakes his head. "Just fix this. Please."

"Alright." Dean squares his shoulders, then rolls them to ease out the tension. He marches back out of the shelter and wanders around. "Where did Rollins go?" he mumbles. There's no sign of him and despite everything wrong between them and how often he just wants to tear Seth's face off, it makes the hairs on his neck stand up. "It's too quiet," he mumbles, fluttering his hands anxiously. Petitmon being tense doesn't help his nerves.

They walk quietly for awhile around the outskirts of the village, looking for something... anything...when Dean sees something strange. Looking closer, he realizes it's a human shoe. From earth. He feels like he's flushed and pale all at once as he steps closer. "Seth?" Memories flash before his eyes of when Seth had been sent through a table off of ladders and how it had felt walking back to him and peeling him off of the ground while trying to celebrate another match win. His steps hit the ground faster, his mind starting to race.

Turning the corner of the building, his fears are confirmed and he hisses, looking around for a cause. Not seeing anything, he drops to his knees, almost thinking that perhaps this is another trick by Seth... though he can't figure out what good it would do, for Seth to betray him _here_ when nothing's going on... unless the old man's insistence that he's the leader had ate at Seth so much that he was going to sicc Betamon on him or something. Despite his doubts, he grips Seth by the shoulder and rolls him over. From the first touch, he knows he's wrong. Seth's skin is cold, clammy. He's unresponsive, eyes closed, and his face is sallow. "What the hell?" Dean shakes him but he's entirely limp, which leaves Dean breathless. "Shit."

Petitmon is chattering by Dean's side, eyes wide, when they hear shuffling and chattering. Dean looks up in time to see Betamon racing by. But he's not alone, there's a small creature not much bigger than Petitmon hopping around. Petitmon turns back towards Dean before hopping up onto Seth's chest.

"Hey, Petitmon, get off of him-" Dean falls quiet when there's a flash of light and Petitmon's chatter fades away.

Instead of the little creature with horns he had been, he now resembles a sea horse with familiar horns along the top of his head. "... Babydmon!" he exclaims, merely blinking up at Dean from where he's still resting on Seth's chest. When Dean tries to reach out and pick him up, he skitters away and remains close to Seth. "I can keep him warm," the creature says, his voice and its squeakiness surprising Dean. "If I stay here..."

"Oh. Well. Yeah, sure," Dean mumbles. He rocks back and tries to figure out where Betamon had gone, not able to see or hear anything around them except for Seth's stuttery breathing and whatever Babydmon is doing. When he finally looks again, he realizes that the little creature is blowing warm clouds of air towards Seth's face, and Dean then realizes why the creature back at the house full of ill Digimon was covered in flames. "Huh."

He's just stood up to look for Betamon when something skitters over his feet, the sound of rustling against his shoes startling him. He looks down, shocked, when Betamon lunges out of nowhere and corners the creature. It's a little Digimon with a bright white body and blue ears, his dark eyes glinting evilly. "I don't want to do this," the aquatic Digimon tells the young creature softly. "But I can't let you run around and poison people like you did Seth."

Dean jerks at this. "Poisoned?!" he yells out, looking back at his former SHIELD partner. Babydmon doesn't seem shocked by this explanation, nuzzling closer to Seth's chin and continuing to blow more air against his cold flesh. Before he can digest all of this, the white baby creature rushes forward, dodging around Betamon and skitters up Dean's leg. "Hey! Get offa me!" He's shaking his leg, trying to free himself, but there's nothing for it: between his body and ears that are somehow acting like ears, the little guy just can't be shook off.

Babydmon looks like he's about to do something to help when Dean shakes his head warningly at him, aware that Seth needs him more right now. It's a wise choice when there's a flash of green and Betamon's claw slices through the Digimon, sending him exploding into a cloud of data. "Sorry, Pupumon," Seth's partner pants. "I can't let you do this to someone else." He hits the ground and walks back over to Seth's side, resting a claw on his arm. "You'll be reborn. Seth might not have that chance, though."

Dean grimaces, rubbing at his leg where Betamon's claw had scraped through his jeans. It's not important though, not now. He returns to Seth's side as well and leans down, considering lifting him up and taking him back to earth to find help... when he hears that familiar throat clearing sound from earlier. His head whips up and he stares as Kita Kitsunemon approaches. "The vile data is gone," he says simply. "You figured out the cause. The village can slowly return to normal now." He stares at Dean. "Thank you."

He's just turned, as if he's going to walk away and return to the building where all of the sick Digimon are, when Dean lunges forward. "No, wait! Seth's sick too. What about him?" He hasn't really cared seriously about anything to do with "What about Seth?" for months but now, he kind of does. Although it's been well over a year, he can't really imagine life without either of his SHIELD brothers.

Kita Kitsunemon pauses and walks to Seth's side. Holds his hand out and closes his eyes, mumbling under his breath as a warm light surges from his fingers and rains down on Seth's prone body. When it fades away, he turns and leaves, but he's barely taken five steps when Seth begins to stir, his eyes fluttering weakly. Betamon takes Babydmon's place on Seth's chest as the younger creature returns to Dean's side, humming as he's picked up and held in the crook of Dean's arm. Seth groans and sits up slowly, holding his head in his hands. "Ugh, what the hell?"

"You were poisoned," Dean says slowly. Their eyes lock and Seth looks like he's about to say something that'll shatter everything that's held Dean together since that first chair slammed into his back. "You're a friggin' idiot. Where the hell did you go?"

It's obvious the moment that the shutters fall down, Seth's defenses back up. "Shut up, Ambrose, or I'll stomp you into cinderblocks again."

_That's more like it,_ Dean smirks, glad to see that old fire growing in Seth's eyes.


	68. chapter 68

Silence. Everything's quiet, Heath not finding the words for anything. And apparently Wade's fine with the peace because he doesn't try to initiate conversation, the two of them walking in step with their partners as they search out the issue in the virus sector that their Digivices had sent them to. Finally, thoroughly annoyed and itching at the lack of consideration from Wade, Heath stops short and turns to face him, an ugly grimace on his face. "What is your problem?!"

Wade stops short, his eyes furrowing as he takes in the unexpected anger from the ginger. "What are you talking about, Slater? I don't have a problem. Perhaps you should look in a bloody mirror." He's just pushed past Heath, sending him staggering back, when Heath grabs his arm. "Hey!"

"You let me just walk on in silence, not caring about how unnatural all of that was? Not even asking once if everythin's ok? What kinda friend are you?!"

Wade snarls and pulls away, pushing Heath for real this time, both hands planted on the shorter man's chest. Heath stumbles back, only just keeping from falling on his ass in the dirt. " _Maybe_ I was just enjoying the day without constantly listening to your pathetic drawl nattering on about every ridiculous thing under the sun."

Heath looks like he's chewing on his own tongue as he stares up at Wade, taking in what he's just said. "It's better than listenin' to you go on for hours about bein' a king," he snaps. "But I sat here and listened to all'a it, even when you couldn't stop moaning about R-Truth disrespectin' ya." He pokes Wade's shoulder. "Maybe if my voice is such an annoyance to ya, we should ask Luke to give us different partners."

"Sounds like a plan," Wade says, his eyes cool.

Heath scoffs and shakes his head, hurt overwhelming the anger at just how easy it was for Wade to agree to his off-handed suggestion. "Fine then. See ya never." He turns and walks back towards the Digiport, not even having it in him to try to figure out what the problem is in this area. He's barely taken five steps when they hear a rough explosion off in the distance, Heath and Lopmon both freezing midstep. They exchange glances before Heath sucks in a breath and turns to look at Wade.

The Brit doesn't bother to look over at him, though, so he grits his teeth and returns the way he came, stomping away. Not towards the portal, no, instead he heads towards the smoke billowing up into the sky. It's massive, whatever it is, and he feels really vulnerable, leaning over to pick Lopmon up so he doesn't feel _quite_ as alone. Their eyes widen as they get a good look at the cater- it's not just any ordinary explosion, no... This is massive, nearly enough to wipe away a city the size of New York. Heath swallows hard at this thought, settling Lopmon down so he can step closer. "What _is_ this?"

He knows immediately when the cause of this destruction is present, a cold shiver passing down his spine as he freezes in horror. He's never felt a force like this before, not even in the past year of being a Digidestined. It hurts even to move but he forces his head up and stares at the strange shape blotting out the sun, its body massive and strange tentacles of darkness whipping around its form. It doesn't look familiar to the creature he'd come across in the past, but there's just something about its vibe... he knows it innately, recognizes it from every time his fingers brush against the scar on his side. "Arkadimon."

The sound that follows can only be described as a demented laugh and Heath closes his eyes, frozen in fright. The Digimon who had tore into his side, nearly left him for dead, had been much weaker than this one. And then at least Heath had had Wade by his side... but now, now he's alone... He swallows and squeezes Lopmon. "Digivolve," he beckons the creature, not sure what Moosemon could do, but knowing they need to at least try to do something, keep him from ruining another massive section of the Digiworld with whatever attack he used to open this crater up.

Obligingly, his partner leaps from his arms into the glowing light, coming out of it as the much larger Moosemon. He lands hard on all four hooves, staring curiously at Arkadimon's new form. "Hmph," he says, unimpressed as he shakes his head and paws at the ground. "Hanging twister!" he calls out, sending a massive tornado towards Arkadimon. It seems to work, surrounding the motionless digimon and tightening around his prone body... but then the strange dark tentacles slice through it, destroying the tornado as if it wasn't one of the more destructive parts of a storm.

Heath's jaw drops but before he can say anything, the tentacles whip around, rushing past Heath and Moosemon to snag something, drawing them out from behind some rocks. Heath turns slowly, eyes widening when he realizes. "Wade?!"

He struggles, trying to free himself and Lunamon from the tight hold, but there's nothing for it. He looks on grimly as Arkadimon draws him in, hovering him over Heath. "I recognize you," he tells the massive Digimon, seeing no reason to be afraid when he's already in such a dangerous predicament. "You hurt Slater over there and we destroyed you. So why, pray tell, are you back and as ugly and evil as before?" It's suicide, he knows this, but he holds Arkadimon's stare, ignoring Heath's sputtered demands to shut up.

It's hard to tell Arkadimon's facial features from the rest of him, everything a dark shadow, even his tentacles, but Wade's pretty sure he's smirking. More so as a large tentacle comes out of nowhere and rears back, as though it's about to stab straight through Wade's midsection. Held prone in midair, there's not much he can do but watch... as Moosemon leaps up, getting impressive air and crying out as the tentacle tears through his rump, drenching the ground with data. He lands awkwardly on his side and dedigivolves all the way to his baby form, a helpless little lump of data, and Wade gapes as Heath cries out and races to scoop his partner up. "He saved me," the Brit mumbles.

Heath's slumped down on his knees, face buried in the tiny brown Digimon's soft body, shoulders shaking as he feels his partner's weak breathing. "Hang on," he mumbles. "Please just hang on, you're gonna be alright... so's Wade. I promise, your sacrifice won't be in vain..." He gently lays the baby down on the ground and scrambles to his feet, looking up. "Stop it!" he screams out, gripping his hair and nearly tearing it out as Arkadimon taunts Wade with his tentacles, lightly slapping against his chest as if testing the waters for another gouging attack like what he'd done to Moosemon only moments earlier.

"Slater, shut up," Wade's just said, unable to see Heath well from this angle but not wanting the man to say or do something stupid. "I'm going to be fine, just-"

"Take me." It's quiet, it's weak, but it's enfused with a strange amount of surety. "Leave Barrett alone, let Lunamon and Cocomon continue bein', and just... take me."

"No!" Wade exclaims. "What the bloody hell, Slater-?"

"I'm tired of bein' worthless, and bein' ignored because of it. Just take me and leave the others alone. I'm who you've wanted this entire time, right?" For whatever reason, Arkadimon actually seems interested, his hold on Wade slipping as he lowers his tentacles to the ground.

Heath's heavy breathing is audible to Wade once he's down safely, and the Brit shakes his head incredulously. "Slater, don't even think-"

"Shut up, Wade," he says simply. "Take good care of Cocomon for me." He glances towards his barely moving partner and takes a step towards Arkadimon, immediately met by one of his tentacles.

"Heath-!"

"I said shut up." Heath looks towards Wade. "We're not strong enough to take 'em. It was luck that we survived last time, and I ain't standin' by and letting someone else get hurt. Just... no matter how many times we argue, Brit, I trust ya. If there's a way to get me outta this mess, I know you'll find it. But in order to do that, you gotta live so shut up and get outta here with the little ones."

Wade squeezes Lunamon, hating every bit of this even as he hesitantly walks over and scoops up Cocomon, who is only now starting to regain consciousness. "Heath, about earlier-"

"No time." Heath exhales sharply. "I'm sorry too, I wasn't mad at you. Not really, just everythin' else... but you gotta go now. Please."

Wade hates himself more and more with every step he takes, itching to stay, fight harder to get Heath out of there too, but there's nothing he can do. Lunamon, even if she digivolves, isn't enough to fight off this creature, and Cocomon is still struggling just to survive another moment. He has no choice and turns his back just as there's a dark flash of light and Arkadimon roars loudly before... before... his shadow disappears and a sharp laughter fills the afternoon air, sounding like Heath's but... not...

For the first time since he'd met him, Wade finds himself missing his Southern drawl. It makes him walk a little bit faster, not wanting to see whatever's going on behind him. Although his imagination has filled in the blanks. Somehow, someway, the vicious Digimon had possessed Heath, filled his mind and body with his evil essence. "Don't worry," Wade mumbles to Lunamon as she whimpers and buries herself in his neck. "We'll rescue him. Just have to go tell the others."

He hopes that it's that easy, at any rate...


	69. chapter 69

Wade walks back to Luke's homebase, Cocomon held protectively in his arms while Lunamon hangs off of his shoulder, blowing bubbles towards the baby Digimon to try to keep him from crying. Most of the others are loitering around, waiting to return home now that their missions are done. He swallows hard, closing his eyes. _Now or never, I suppose,_ he thinks, head held high as he walks forward, determined to face his failure head on.

Zack notices Wade first and grins down at Cocomon before looking behind him, realization dawning on him. "Where's Heath, bro?" Wade's silence lingers and Zack's grin disappears completely. "Bro?"

"Arkadimon was..." He swallows. "Arkadimon was the Digimon causing problems... he took Heath." Wade grits his teeth. "Or I should say the bloody fool gave himself up to save us." He slaps his fist against a tree and grunts at the pain that stabs up his wrist. "He already came close to killing him before, and now..."

Zack takes a breath and steps forward, taking Cocomon from him as tears pour down the baby's face. "It's ok, little guy. He'll be fine." He looks up at Wade. "What happened?" As Wade tells him, the other Digidestined group around, their faces falling as realization dawns.

Luke listens from his position by the mountain wall, hands folded behind his back. When Wade finishes, he crosses over to the man and lifts him up by his collar, staring at him. "What are you going to do about this?"

Luke shifts, gripping his wrists with a surprising strength. "Let me down. Now." Wade growls up at him but does so, scraping his fingers through his hair before turning away, gritting his teeth. "Arkadimon will not sit silently while we wait for an opportunity to save Heath. He took him for a reason, especially if he was planning on possessing him this entire time. I expect he will come to us soon, we just need to be prepared."

"Prepared. Right... And meanwhile what happens to Heath?" Wade mumbles, turning away from Luke and heading back towards the others to check on Cocomon. The baby digimon is now asleep and he sighs, resting a hand on the top of his head, stroking his brown fur.

"What should we do now?" Zack wonders, watching as Patamon cuddles Cocomon. The group turn towards Seth, who also looks a little lost but, under their clear need for a leader, straightens his shoulders, clearly trying to think of their next course of action.

Before he can decide on what to do, there's a flash of green and purple, Wade feeling a sharp sting in his arm. Blood pours out, raining upon the ground next to Zack, and they gape at the wound that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "AH HELL!" Seth yells next, gripping his cheek as blood oozes between his fingers.

It's only when Dean flails and drops back, being missed by the attack just barely, they finally get a good look at the momentarily stunned Digimon. It looks like a jester, with obnoxious green pants and a purple jacket on. His hat is red and blue, with a star and a ball on top of it. His face twists cruelly before he's off again, his red scythe flashing in the sunlight. Zack holds Cocomon protectively as Patamon leaps off and prepares to Digivolve.

"Jokermon!" Darcmon yells, having just formed out of the data when Jokermon lands on him, slicing his scythe through his armor. He cries out, lunging his staff and sword back and forth until he frees himself, data pouring all over the ground as the evil Digimon leaps away, a smug look on his face. He groans and holds his midsection, relieved when some of the other Digimon get involved.

Gatomon and Strikedramon both try to slash at the rapidly moving Jokermon, but he dodges and they come close to slicing each other open instead, their partners cursing and calling at them to be careful. "Forget it," the cat digimon cries out. "Gatomon Digivolve to... Sanzomon!" She lands gracefully, the rosary beads surrounding her gleaming as she lifts her arms. Murmuring in a language none of them can understand, she closes her eyes as the beads grow in size and fly forward, boxing Jokermon in and attacking him again and again.

He snarls and regains control by slicing them in half, but before he can rush forward and attack someone else, Strikedramon is there, his body burning hot as he slices through Jokermon, his scythe falling to pieces in his hands. "NO!" he screams out, this momentary distraction being enough. Seadramon strikes him with ice, freezing his feet to the ground and allowing Sanzomon to rush forward and destroy him with another flood of rosary beads that pound into him from every angle.

Wade breathes a little easier once the digimon is nothing more than data streaming in the wind, but then... Cocomon whimpers and he senses it. Turning slowly, he spots a familiar head of hair peeking at them from behind a tree. His eyes lock with Arkadimon's cool gaze and the Digimon sneers at him before turning and disappearing into the tall grass leading away from Luke's base. _So he sent Jokermon,_ Wade thinks. It's tempting to go after him, but Wade refuses to do so without a plan. Doing so would risk Heath's life and he refuses to consider doing anything that could cause Heath to be lost permanently to them, so he keeps quiet about what he's seen.

"Let's go home," Seth says. "We'll regroup and we'll decide on a gameplan, and we'll return."

For the first time since learning Seth was their leader, Wade feels grateful towards him. That Seth already knows what they need, that patience is what's needed right now to get Heath back healthy and whole. "Yes," he says quietly, taking Cocomon from Zack. "Let's go home."


	70. chapter 70

Seth has felt off of his game since Luke had brought in Dean Ambrose and put them in groups of two to encourage teamwork or some nonsense like that. Something that the WWE World Heavyweight Champion stopped finding worthwhile a long time ago, when his career was beginning to stall because he was allowing his brothers in The Shield to hold too much power over him and his choices. He hopes that the same thing won't happen this time but considering Luke has placed him with Dean, he might not have a choice if they're going to have a real chance at saving this world and the Digimon.

He peers back over at the other man, wondering just how bad the beating would be if Dean could hear his thoughts. They'd formed a somewhat uneasy team since Seth had been poisoned, but it doesn't mean it'll last even short term. Their continued issues in WWE easily bleed over outside of the ring, and he's surprised every time they have a moment without arguing. _At least our Digimon get along,_ he thinks, watching as Betamon carries BabyDmon around on his head, the two giggling over something.

"Where the hell is this place?" he finally snaps, impatient and tired of trudging alongside Dean, neither of them trusting the other enough to walk ahead or behind. Stares incredulously at the screen, "I swear if this thing is malfunctioning already, I'm going to give Luke a piece of my mind for ruining my day-"

"Oh please, what else do you have to do? More crossfit nonsense?" Dean rolls his eyes and picks under his nails as he shuffles along, the grass slowly thinning out as they approach another village. "We'll find something, or we won't, who cares? As long as this village is safe, that's the important thing."

Seth's about to retort, belittle _Dean's_ exercise choices, when Betamon and BabyDmon both freeze, staring suspiciously at the village. "Hey, wait, stop-" he snaps, hair on the back of his neck standing up straight as he feels something... off about the area. "AMBROSE! Dammit listen to me!" But his former teammate jitters away from his grip and continues on towards the village to check on those inside, when...

Seth hisses as a sharp wind blows past him, whipping his hair back with the force of it. "What the fffff..." His voice drifts away as a large arm comes out of nowhere and snags the man... Almost immediately massive tendrils drop down, engulfing Dean entirely. "Shit!" Betamon is frozen at his feet, BabyDmon whimpering and mumbling in his babyish voice. "Dean! Idiot, I told you to listen to me!" His hands are shaking as he approaches, not sure what he's going to find. "Betamon, you gotta Digivolve," he commands halfway there. "Now, hurry."

His partner is tense, watching. "Seth, it's another... another Arkadimon. Adult form." Seth follows the arm up to a hideous looking, flesh tone colored creature with red nails and, of course, the tendrils. Eyes as beady and red as one would expect, he flicks his tail around and digs his black nails into the ground, hissing and clicking noises coming from his mouth.

"Then I guess this means Heath's around here somewhere, huh?" Seth remembers the look on Wade's face when, first, he had to tell them that his partner- his best friend- was taken, and then again when Heath was spotted at the sight of the attack on Luke's zone recently. His jaw tightens as he thinks about Dean being possessed in a similiar fashion, tilting his face towards Betamon. "You need to Digivolve. Now."

This time, Betamon listens and Seadramon appears before long, snapping his jaw at Arkadimon Adult Form as he merely rolls his eyes and clicks his nails, his tendrils tightening around Ambrose's prone body. "Dammit," Seth hisses. Seadramon flies forward and blasts Arkadimon with icy water, it working minimally as his body becomes encrusted with ice. Beyond that, however, he seems undisturbed by it and Dean continues to be held by his tendrils. "Come on!"

Seadramon shakes off his vague surprise at the ice not working, streaking through the air and coiling around Arkadimon like a snake, this causing his tendrils to tighten even more. Seth grits his teeth upon realizing this, but there's little he can do... until Seadramon digivolves into MegaSeadramon, his much larger body whipping around until he's facing where Dean had stood only minutes earlier, his sharp horn slicing against the tendrils and shattering them like they're nothing, particles of data streaming in the air.

As Arkadimon thrashes and screams out in pain, Seth lunges forward and grips Dean under the shoulders, dragging him to safety. Once sure that his partner and Dean is safe, MegaSeadramon writhes around once more and stabs his horn straight through Armadimon's body, sending electricity through the wound and destroying him from the inside out. As his data drifts away, MegaSeadramon shrinks back into Betamon and gives a full-body shudder before running back towards Seth and Dean. "Is he-?"

Dean's pale, his breathing is much too slow and weak, and Seth holds him close, not liking any of this. "Asshole," he hisses. "You don't get to do this. I didn't go through all of that just for you to die. Now come the _hell_ on!" He forms a fist and presses it against Dean's sternum, trying to force his body to instinctively suck in oxygen to replace what he'd been denied while held in those tentacles. "Come on, you idiot. Breathe, do it. I'm not returning, like Barrett, and telling them you died in this stupid village. Come _on!"_ He slams his fist down on Dean's chest this time and, eyes widening in shock, watches as Dean whips up, coughing and choking, grabbing his throat as he struggles to breathe normally.

Once he can speak again, he looks over at Seth, eyes wide and a little manic. " _Ow,"_ is all he says before falling back, still weak. He's sprawled over Seth's legs now, body wracked by faint tremors, and Seth keeps his comments to himself, almost relieved to feel him breathing and shifting. "Dammit to hell, what _was_ that?"

"That was you not listening to me when I told you to stop." Seth groans and shakes his head, starting to hate the man once more. "Why can you never listen to me?!"

Dean rolls his eyes and twists around, pressing his face in Seth's shirt for a minute. "Shut up," he mumbles. "Why'm I so cold..."

"You almost died," Seth mumbles, realizing that his tremors are actually shivers. He roughly rubs his hand between Dean's shoulderblades, trying to remember the last time he'd bothered to touch him like this. He releases a breath, unable to recall, but it doesn't matter now. "I guess we're even now. You saved me from poison, and I saved you from... this..." He flaps a hand around, unsure how to describe everything he'd just seen.

Dean sits up and scrubs a hand over his face, nodding tensely. "Right. I guess this is where you'd expect me to thank you." Wild blue eyes boring into Seth's, he sneers. "You'll be waitin' for awhile, Rollins." As he scrambles up to his feet, ignoring his body's weakness and lack of coordination, he scoops up his Digimon and heads back the way they came.

"Of course," Seth mumbles before leaning down so Betamon can scramble up on his shoulder before they trudge after Dean, in no hurry to catch up with the still much too pale man.


	71. chapter 71

Zack Ryder sighs as he walks through the Digiworld, hands buried in his pockets, one gripping his Digivice tightly. He hasn't been alone in the Digiworld in a very long time and he really hates it now, especially with the fact that Heath Slater is still missing. Unfortunately Dolph had been injured and then cast in a WWE Films movie that is still currently filming, so he's without a human partner to have his back as he searches out the alert on his Digivice for the report of darkness.

His only comfort is Patamon, warm and steady on top of his head, but neither of them are very talkative as he walks by a jungle. They breathe in and out quietly, as if fearful of bringing their target right to them should they make even a slight noise... which, considering things that have happened in the past, seems more and more likely. One hand moving away from his digivice, Zack grips the crest that now hangs around his neck whenever he's in the Digiworld. He wishes, not for the first time, that Dolph is with him, mocking him for his fright while comforting him with a clap to the arm to encourage him on.

He's just let go of the emblem of hope when there's a strange, wet noise from the copse of trees they're passing by, and then a splash of something wet as he feels his crest get lifted up from where it's hanging out of his shirt, Zack gaping as the crest is lifted up, floating away from his head in a small, but lethally strong, bubble that carries away. "No! Are you serious, bro?!" he demands, trying to chase it when-

"Aqua Shatter!" A blast of high pressure water slams into Zack, plastering him against the trees and he groans, every inch of him throbbing. He's sure he's broken something- everything- but, once the ringing in his ears subsides, he once more remembers that he's without his crest, gritting his teeth.

"Come on!" He tries to stagger forward but his legs give up and his Digivice slips from his fingers, skittering a few feet and coming to a stop at the attacking Digimon's feet. Zack examines him while he tries to catch his breath, working through the pain to get his stuff back so Patamon- who is also motionless and whimpering in pain after that blast- can Digivolve and get rid of this scumbag. Orange skinned dinosaur type creature with blue stripes along his body and intense looking claws with a horn atop his head, and Zack thinks he's seen it before. _Brachimon,_ his mind supplies as the creature holds its foot over the Digivice, clearly about to smash it under his large foot.

"NOOO!" Zack yells, working through the pain, digging down deep- with all of the strength he'd thrown into his desperation to be US champion all of those years ago, he leaps forward and shields the Digivice with his body, refusing to lose his Digimon's best bet at helping in the future of the Digiworld. And although it works, although the Digivice is spared, he can't help but scream as old back injuries are exacerbated by that hard foot instead stamping down upon his spin. Tears of pain pour down his face and he fights to breathe as fresh pain joins the old, his fingers trembling against the Digivice.

Patamon can do nothing but watch from where he lays as Brachimon grounds its foot into Zack's back more and more, grinding him down into the dirt, Zack clearly about to lose consciousness. "No, no," he chokes, trying to crawl forward, do _something_ to try to help.

Zack groans and grits his teeth, forcing his eyes open. "I wish you were here, Dolph," he mumbles. "I miss you..." For a minute, he thinks he can see him, head thrown back in laughter, eyes gleaming like the good days, before Lana, before Rusev, before everything, but then it all fades away, Brachimon screams and retreats a few feet away as a blinding light shines underneath Zack, filling the area with warmth and power. The next thing he knows, he's digging weakly at the soft dirt not far away from him, freeing an Digimental that Brachimon had partially unearthed with all of his rampaging. It takes his breath away and he's sure he's going to pass out for real this time but Zack rolls onto his back, props himself up on his elbows and thrusts the digimental out towards where Patamon's laying, desperate for it to be enough. "NOW!"

Somehow, it is. The Digivice in one hand and the Digimental in the other, they fuse, work together to make Patamon flash with the power of a new form. When the light subsides and Zack can look again, his partner has grown into a tall, prairie dog type creature with impressive claws held by robotic like technology and long ears. "Huh," he mumbles, all energy fading from his taxed body and he collapses back against the ground, unable to do anything but listen.

Prairiemon, noticing that Zack's out once more, clicks his claws together before diving for the ground. Shredding a hole in the soft dirt almost immediately, he disappears from sight and Brachimon growls in disappointment at the digimon chickening out of a fight with him... when there's a rumbling noise underneath his feet but before he could respond, move away to find out what's going on, it sinks in, then bursts outwards as Prairiemon slices upwards and drills him almost entirely in half, the rest of him deleting into little pieces of data. It's over before Prairiemon can fully land, the Digimon releasing a breath and walking over to Zack. "Let's get you home," he whispers to him.

When he leans over to pick him up, Zack moans before burying his face in Prairiemon's soft furry chest. "Dolph..."

The creature's heart goes out to his partner, aware of how much he misses his best friend. "No, sorry, but I'm sure Dolph will be home soon," he whispers to him, walking resolutely back towards the portal to get them to Luke's base safely before his strength fails and he returns to Patamon.

Later that night, Zack is laying on a hotel bed, staring at his phone. His Skype app dials, dials, dials, until finally there's a beep and Ziggler's face appears. He smirks, his eyes gleaming in the light of the phone. "Hey, bro."

"Hey, kid. What's been going on? Have another adventure in the Digiworld?" Zack sighs and buries his head in his pillow but before he can say anything, Dolph speaks again. "Don't worry, I'll be home soon to have your back again. Filming's almost over."

Zack smiles into the pillow, all of his aches and pains lessening at this news.


	72. chapter 72

It's a beautiful day, bright blue sky overhead, gently lapping water at his feet, but even so Wade Barrett hates every second of it, his body tingling with the weight of his loss. He'd teamed up with Stardust in an attempt to distract himself with what's going on with Heath, hwo he hadn't seen him for weeks, even when in the Digiworld, but they had lost terribly. He hugs a knee to his chest and runs his fingers through the water, wishing that he could be swallowed away by it right now, forget everything that's gone so dreadfully wrong.

He's supposed to be figuring out what the latest crisis is, but it's in this general area and he supposes if he sees or hears something, he'll move to do something about it but right now, he's not in the mood for a hide and seek mission. Lopmon nor Lunamon seem to mind this as they sprawl out under his legs, enjoying a break from battling against the growing wave of evilness trying to take over the Digiworld. He reaches down and pets Lopmon, pondering over where Heath might be, what that Arkadimon might be doing to him now.

He closes his eyes and collapses back against the sand, pursing his lips as the Digimon shift and mumble amongst themselves. Only a minute or two has passed, suddenly, when he feels something wrap around his leg and... with a sharp tug... his body is scraped over the ground, into the water and he gasps and chokes as his lungs suddenly fill with water, screaming for oxygen. A large beast has him by the foot and he can't fight free to find a source of oxygen. Not to mention the Digimon are too small- he can't find his Digivice under the weight of the water, and Lopmon is just plainly unable to digivolve without Heath...

He chokes and gags, spots dancing before his eyes, when the creature lifts him up and their eyes lock. Weary blue eyes gaze into the crazed irises. How it happens, he's not sure, but when the water Digimon speaks, he can understand. "Oxygen Sorrow Blue!" It's a blast of power so pure that it tears through the water and impacts with him with the force of a dozen punches, causing him to double up. He's sinking, both figuratively and literally, when the water is swayed by something else...

His eyes are opened only a slit but it's enough for him to realize the form in the water is human, diving towards them. He struggles again to breathe, too far gone to realize that he's only inhaling more water, but then there's a blinding light and something blasts the water beast back, drilling through its body and sending a flood of data around Wade's prone body as it deletes. More bubbles come from Wade's lips as he's roughly gripped and dragged back to the surface, deposited onto the ground. There are a couple of hard thumps on his back that jostle him hard into the sand and he chokes, scrambles and coughs until water is expelled roughly and he collapses in the soaking ground.

Arms hook under his shoulders and guide him onto his back, holding him upright as he breathes in deeply for the first time in what feels like years. His lungs' protests falling to a dull roar instead of the painful cacophony that it had been, he forces his eyes open and stare up at one very soaked Heath Slater, his dark brown eyes boring into Wade's blotchy face. "You-" he rasps and struggles, his voice failing him. "You... you're here..."

Heath seems to be struggling with himself as he grips Wade's shoulders, his teeth gritted. "You gotta take better care'a yourself, Wade," he grits out. "You gotta... I can't..." There's a sudden flash of darkness and every essence of Heath disappears, just to return a minute later. "Nah, no, I- I... please..."

Wade swallows hard, realizing that Heath's control is slipping. He pieces together his strength and touches Heath's hand. "I will. I'll fight. You too, yeah? Just hang on..." He struggles to sit up and cups Heath's face, examining his fearful expression. "I'm gonna get you back, Heath. I promise."

"I trust you," Heath grits out before his body slumps in, the last of his willpower fades, and Wade quickly moves away, aware of what's going to happen. Sure enough, when Heath looks up again, it's not him staring at Wade. It's the evil gaze of Arkadimon and he laughs as Wade struggles to his feet. "I will kill you," he promises. "Not today, but very soon... very, very soon..."

"Heath won't let that happen," Wade mumbles, the touch of his best friend still warm against his arms. "You'll see." Even so he can do nothing but watch, collecting Lopmon and Lunamon, as Arkadimon regroups and leaves, staggering a little. "Keep fighting, Heath. Every bit of power you can take from him will give us even more of an opportunity," he whispers. Turning to the Digimon, he struggles to keep calm. "Let's go home, little ones."

Turning his back on Heath's departing form is the hardest thing he's ever had to do, but he needs peace and quiet to think of a good strategy to make Arkadimon give up, bring Heath back permanently, so he keeps his chin up and does just that.


	73. chapter 73

Dean is always full of jittery energy. He likes to talk and move and argue and fight, and by the end of it he's still not wiped out nine times out of ten. All in all he makes life as annoying as possible for Seth whenever they're in the Digiworld. The only time he calms down is when there's a Digimon nearby and they need to work together, which disgusts him but has to happen. Especially considering his digimon is still young and barely able to walk on his own. _You're lucky you're cute,_ he thinks, poking BabyDmon and watching as he squirms and giggles.

Seth is off to the side with Betamon, ignoring them both as he oversees the surrounding area. BabyDmon squirms away from Dean after a few minutes and tackles Betamon, sending him rolling down the hill. They laugh and squeal, playing, while Dean and Seth look away from each other and listen to their digimon. It seems peaceful enough until Dean realizes it's getting really hot, considering finding the nearest body of water and diving in for a few minutes before he sees why- a monsterous Digimon with red arms and legs and blue fur covering his chest hovering overhead, a huge ball of fire held in his massive claws. His face is ugly and angry as he glares down at them. Dean gapes up at the creature, unsure how to vocalize what's going on when BabyDmon and Betamon both freeze and look up in awe.

"Get down!" Betamon cries out, immediately beginning to digivolve. Seadramon lands heavily a few minutes later but before he can ready an ice beam, the fireball blasts down and impacts with his side, sending him to the ground with burns along his side. He struggles to get up while Dean watches worriedly, collecting BabyDmon. Seadramon unfortunately is their only hope, and should something happen to him, well...

"Digivolve again!" Seth orders him, relieved when his digivice and the crest seem to cooperate, sending huge energy beams at the Digimon. MegaSeadramon forms a moment later and he rears his massive head up towards the evil creature in the sky. "Now!"

"Thunder Javelin... Thunder blade!" After shooting off an electric attack at the sky, MegaSeadramon lunges forward and stabs his horn towards him, missing him when he slams onto the ground with a bonejarring thud. All Seth and Dean can do is gape as he stares at them, forming another ball of flame in his palms.

"Great," Seth mutters. "We don't even know this guy's name and we're probably gonna die at his hands..."

"Sethmon Wild Mode," BabyDmon offers, shocking both of them.

"Oh, screw this shit," Dean exclaims once he shakes off the shock of this announcement. " I ain't letting some punk Digimon get the best of me with this kinda bullshit..." He pokes BabyDmon. "Digivolve, come on. It's time, don't you think?"

BabyDmon pouts but nods, closing his eyes and focusing. When the light comes, he lunges into it and swirls around a bit. "BabyDmon digivolve to..." He grows into a tadpole type creature, his eyes blinking as his digivolution ends. ""Otamamon!"

Dean stares at his water type partner, glances at Seth's water beast, and makes a face. "Of course..."

"Lullaby bubble!" he calls out, starting to sing a strange melody that none of them can quite decipher. Even stranger is the fact that it starts to work, Sethmon actually begins to waver.

"Go MegaSeadramon!" Seth yells, watching closely as his partner tries again, stabbing his electrified horn through Sethmon's furry midsection. The response is immediate as the drowsy digimon's head dips down, he roars angrily... and slams both tusks up through MegaSeadramon's chest, sending him slithering back down to the ground, his data flowing all over the place. He immediately dedigivolves and lays slumped in the grass, limp and lifeless. "Be- Betamon?"

Dean ignores the pained little sound in Seth's voice as he stares down at Otamamon. "We gotta do something... think you can digivolve again?"

"I'll try," Otamamon promises. This time, when the light fades away, he's a squid type creature with large claws at the end of his tentacles and horrible looking teeth protruding from his mouth. "Gesomon!" His tentacles immediately wrap around Sethmon, digging into his fur and squeezing with all of his strength. Other tentacles slam forward and rampage Sethmon's body as he sprays ink at him again and again, blinding him long enough for Gesomon's remaining tentacle to stab into his body, affectively shattering him into pieces of data.

Once he's gone, Gesomon returns to his Otamamon form and runs into Dean's arms, looking over at Betamon while Seth holds him close. "Is he going to be ok?" Dean asks, holding Otamamon in the crook of his arm.

"I think so," Seth mutters, so distracted by Betamon's weak appearance that he doesn't even think about who he's talking to. He's subdued, clearly numb, and Dean eventually decides to take control, guiding him to the digiport back to Luke's so they can go home and Betamon can hopefully recover.


	74. chapter 74

Wade Barrett's movie had come at a very bad time. With Heath missing still, it's a heavily discussed topic amongst those remaining. With their numbers dwindling, it puts more pressure on them all to keep the Digiworld safe.

Being short an entire team means that they're all spread thin. Alicia and Mike are deep in discussions about just this while walking towards a village that had sent out a distress call within the hour, Monodramon and Palmon loitering nearby, listening for things Mike and Alicia wouldn't notice as easily.

They're only a few feet away from village when Palmon stops short and peers around, her dark eyes fixed and narrowed on their surroundings. Alicia's just reached for the gate to push it in so they could meet the senders of the call and figure out how to help when a vine whips out, grabs her wrist and gently pulls her away. "Palmon!" she scolds, not sure what her partner's thinking. "What-"

"I smell data," Monodramon speaks up. "So much data." The digimon exchange glances, perplexing their partners further. Palmon releases Alicia and approaches the gate herself, her green paw pressing against it while Monodramon watches closely. She's barely pushed it open when there a flash of silver and the gate slams closed again.

Alicia doesn't realize what's happened at first until Palmon staggers back and Monodramon grabs her, pulling her away from the gate. There's a sword handle peeking out of her midsection and it's clearly not good as she collases into Monodramon's arms. Only then does Alicia speak, half a scream, half a whimper. "No! Palmon!"

As she rushes towards her weakening partner, Mike joins Monodramon and they stare uncertainly at the gate. One wrong move and Mike almost expects one of them to be the next ones to end p with a sword hanging out of their bodies, but time passes and nothing happens.

"The smell of data," Monodramon says faintly. "It keeps getting stronger..."

Mike stares at him, wondering what he means, unable to smell anything, when the gate is forced open. They both leap away, expecting an attack, but instead a weakened Angemon stumbles out and collapses at Mike's feet, a sword similar to the one in Palmon embedded in his chest. "You are Digidestined," he wheezes, staring up at them. "I am the last... there are no others left..."

"What?" Mike demands, not able to envision what the creature is trying to relay.

"He destroyed everyone," he gasps, more data pouring out of his wound. "Please... stop him... please..."

Mike has no change to respond before the angel-like creature collapses forward and deletes. "Dammit. Digivolve," he tells Monodramon tensely.

Strikedramon lumbers over Mike a few moments later and they ponder the gate together before his partner, tired of waiting, lunges forward and destroys it with his claws. He then lunges in and starts searching the culprit. Mike holds his breath, waiting for a sign that his partner's met the same fate as Palmon or Angemon, but there's nothing. He steels his resolve and walks inside, looking around.

The village is dessert, the air is thick with what he assumes to be data from its prior residents. He feels more than a little ill until there's a flash of light not that far away and he spots Strikedramon being circled by one of the most ridiculous digimon he's seen since becoming a Digidestined. A purple ball shaped creature with no body, he has two arms with red gloves covering his hands, one gripping a sword tightly, an exact replica of the ones they'd already seen this day. Mike inches closer before Strikedramon attacks again, just missing as the creature evades, his sword scraping up the armor of Mike's partner. Thankfully Strikedramon spots him and a silent agreement crosses between them. "This is it for you, Tekkamon."

The brilliant glow that follows from Mike's Digivice disrupting his attack, Tekkamon falls back and can do nothing but watch as Strikedramon digivolves once more to Cyberdramon. Brandishing his sword around, Tekkamon approaches hesitantly and slices at him. Which proves to be his one, and only, mistake. Claws thrust through his body, leaving him floating aimlessly for a few moments before he explodes into pieces of data. His sword slowly clatters to the ground before deleting as well, only adding to the data already suffusing the afternoon sky.

Mike swallows hard before looking at Cyberdramon as he dedigivolves. "Alicia," he gasps, the two of them running back out of the village to check on her and Palmon.

SHe's cradling her partner and rocking back and forth, Palmon slowly deleting in her arms. This sword too is gone and Mike feels sick at the realization that their destroying Tekkamon had urged the process on. "No, no," Alicia begs through her sobs. "Please..."

"I'll come back to you," Palmon promises weakly. "I will. Like Veemon did for Ricardo." She smiles sadly before the last of her strength fails and she scatters into data even as Alicia struggles to hold on.

"NO!" Alicia wails, hugging herself in the absence of her partner.

Mike watches her for a few heartbreaking moments before storming away and kicking a tree hard. "Where were you today, Shakamon!?" he demands of the heavens. It's a struggle to regain control of himself but he's aware that Alicia needs him so he slowly fights down his anger and approaches the distraught woman, wrapping his arms around her and holding on while they wait. For Palmon's digiegg. For things to stop hurting as badly.


	75. chapter 75

"Back at it, huh, bro?" Zack asks as they walk side by side once more, heading for the most recent cry for help from their Digivices.

"Yeah," Dolph says, his eyes flickering over to Zack. "You up for this?"

"Sure," Zack shrugs with an attempt at a brave expression. "Let's do it." They fall quiet as Dolph checks his Digivice once more to see the map, his bravery slipping slightly. So much has been going on; Heath is still missing, Palmon was deleted, and they've all been attacked and injured in one way or another the last few weeks. He can still remember how it'd felt to not be able to breathe, wishing Dolph was there. But it doesn't matter now, he _is_ back, and they're a team again, and Zack has a side form for Patamon just in case.

"We're close," he says, both men tensing up as they look around for the cause of the problems. "C'mon, c'mon..." He turns in a slow circle, looking for something... anything... when Impmon grips his pants and tugs, his claws digging into the fabric of his jeans. "What, Impmon?"

"I feel... a large power." He frowns. "It... It's massive. I don't know..." They continue to look around for the cause of what Impmon is sensing. "I think we should Digivolve now. This doesn't... feel right... Something's wrong."

"Then do it," Dolph urges him, clutching his crest and Digivice, Zack doing the same thing next to him. Within moments, Wisemon and Hippogriffomon form, both floating up to get a better vantage point. Wisemon is about to say something when there's a blast of bright light and Hippogriffomon falls from the sky, skidding to the ground close to Zack.

"Why does this always happen?" Dolph wonders, peering around.

"Good question," Wisemon says, returning to the ground and helping Hippogriffomon back up. The two ultimate level Digimon stand side by side, waiting for another attack, when it comes- but isn't aimed at either of them, no the pulse blast is heading right towards Zack and Dolph, who are a few feet away from the Digimon. Wisemon immediately acts, freezing the attacks and holding it in midair.

Hippogriffomon flies up once more and aims towards where the attacks had originated. "Heat wave!" he calls out, blowing out a large, heated wind that whips all trees in the area back, burning the leaves to cinders. Only then does he spot the attacker- a tall, monstrous humanoid that makes him go weak as he collapses back onto the ground. "Oh no..."

"What is it?" Dolph asks, still unnerved by the lasers held in midair.

"Imperialdramon Fight Mode," Hippogriffomon offers. The name means nothing to Zack or Dolph, but Wisemon goes very still. "This is bad. What do we do?"

"He's a mega level," Wisemon explains to the humans. "An alternate form, no less. We... won't be able to defeat him at our strength levels. Even with all of the digidestined together, we probably wouldn't be able to win." He closes his eyes, trying to think.

"There has to be something," Hippogriffomon breathes out.

"Giga Death!" a rough voice growls out, a large energy beam coming out of the damaged trees and heading straight for them. Hippogriffomon is about to dive towards the humans, guard them, when Wisemon lifts his other arm and freezes it in place too. Finally Imiperialdramon Fight Mode shows himself and Dolph and Zack see why Wisemon is so pessimistic towards their chances.

"Son of a bitch," Dolph says slowly, staring up at the massive creature leering down at them. He's tall, covered in armor, with terrifying claws protruding from his feet. A large cannon blaster on one hand and red wings coming from his back finish off his frightening visage.

"Damn, bro," Zack hisses, clinging to Dolph's sleeve.

Hippogriffomon stares up at him as Wisemon continues to struggle holding onto the two devastating attacks, their determination to hit their targets making it harder and harder to hold on. He barely pays them any mind, however, his focus on their partners. "Imperial Claw!" he roars out, rushing forward with his claw extended, aiming right for Dolph and Zack once more.

"No!" Hippogriffomon cries, flying between them and parting his beak once more. "Sonic Voice!" Loud squeeching, enough to make Dolph and Zack cringe away, gripping their ears, washes over the infected Digimon but he barely flinches, determined to see his attack through. Hippogriffomon is batted away like a small bird and he crashes into a cliff not far away, skidding back to the ground in a painful collapse of rocks and dirt.

"Hippogriffomon!" Zack cries out before looking up to find Imperialdramon Fighter Mode approaching them, his claws eager to slice through blood and bone. It's stupid, it's useless, but it's the only idea Zack gets: He stands in front of Dolph, arms outstretched, as if his body- so tiny in comparison to Imperialdramon- could ever protect him, but at least he tries.

"No! Zack," Hippogriffomon cries out, struggling to free himself from the rubble, find the strength to get back to his feet. All Wisemon can do is watch, wait and hope for a chance.

"I- I won't let you hurt him," Zack says through gritted teeth. Dolph watches, agape, as Zack plants his feet and waits- waits... but then there's a blinding flash of light and Zack's Digivice thrums, a shield forming around them, keeping them from Imperialdramon. Hippogriffomon is out of the range of it, but Wisemon is there, holding onto Imperialdramon's attacks... and suddenly Zack knows, turning back to look at Dolph. "Wisemon needs to Digivolve," he chokes out.

The only other level left for Wisemon, outside of the digimental stage, is Mega. The same level as Imperialdramon. Dolph blinks in shock. "I don't... don't know if we can," he chokes out. "If I'm strong enough..."

Zack reaches out and squeezes his hand, rough enough to shake these feelings from him. "You are, bro," he says, voice unwavering in his confidence in Dolph. "You are. I believe in you."

Dolph stares at his digivice, the crest of friendship, and closes his eyes, turning towards Wisemon. "You heard the man, partner! Digivolve!"

Somehow... it works. Wisemon even successfully keeps the attacks frozen, his power lingering through the digivolution. "Wisemon mega digivolve to..." The book beneath his feet disappears. He grows taller, the shroud disappearing and being replaced by black armor. The stones in his hands reshape into two massive guns. He's a truly vicious looking creature with searching red eyes just visible under a purple mask. "Beelzebumon!"

"Whoa," Dolph breathes, the shield Zack's digivice had formed around them shattering just in time- Beelzebumon uses the barrels of his guns to twist the earlier attacks that Imperialdramon had attempted back at him, following them closely.

It all happens so fast that Imperialdramon barely has the time to blink before the laser slices into his chest, quickly followed by the energy beam. Beelzebumon himself finishes it off, following the two attacks with sharp claws into the injuries, officially destabilizing Imperialdramon's warped data and causing him to delete. "Noooooooooo-" he roars, collapsing to his knees before disappearing entirely into a sea of data.

Zack releases a breath before turning to get his first good look at Beelzebumon, Hippogriffomon joining them sluggishly, still feeling the affects of the attacks he'd taken. As Zack holds a hand out towards his partner, he eagerly dedigivolves back to Patamon and collapses into Zack's arms, large blue eyes peering up at Beelzebumon. "I guess you're the first one to get to this level, bro," he says with a small smile. "Congrats."

Dolph rolls his eyes, looking up at Beelzebumon before turning to Zack. "I don't think I could've without you, kid. Thanks." They pause awkwardly and then he slaps the back of Zack's head. "Don't shield me like that again though."

"Ow! Fine," Zack huffs, rubbing the now sore spot. "Next time I'll let the big bad Digimon slice right through you. Better?"

"Much," Dolph huffs, before slinging an arm around his shoulders and leading the way to the portal. "Hey, Beelzebumon, are you ever going to dedigivolve? You'll freak the others out..."

"So what?! I've never felt better!" Which lasts until Beelzebumon realizes how uncomfortable it feels trying to crouch- with his guns, no less- to see the digiportal, which is embedded in some rocks. "Dammit! Fine!" he huffs, returning to Impmon's much less cumbersome form. When Dolph laughs at him, he pouts and crosses his arms over his chest.


	76. chapter 76

Alicia holds her digiegg close to her chest, biting her lip and walking side by side with Miz. Things were oddly quiet, the other teams out on their little missions, but there for once hadn't been enough for all of them, so Mike had selected a place at random just so they had something to do while waiting for the others to return, safe and sound hopefully. They're wandering by a lake, Alicia stroking the top of the egg, when Mike rests a hand on Monodramon's head. "Hey, do you know how long it takes for Digieggs to hatch?"

"It varies," the rookie says slowly, peering up at the soft green egg. "Could be hours, could be days. Palmon should hatch soon though." Mike murmurs a soft ok, and they continue walking, Alicia wishing that her partner would just hurry up and return to her soon. She misses her soft voice, her gentle eyes. The way that they just fell into sync so easily. No one had really understood Alicia that well before.

They walk on in silence for awhile longer, enjoying the peace and quiet, when Monodramon stops short and sniffs around, his eyes dilating as he looks all over as if searching for something. "What is it?" Mike asks warily, stepping forward and trying to shield Alicia just in case his partner's reactions prove to be something really serious.

"I smell... something..." He continues looking around until something hard bursts against his chest, sending him crashing backwards. Mike gapes on as a Brachimon crashes down from a cliff ledge, rattling the ground with his heavy hooves. Alicia falls back and drops her digiegg, grunting as Mike turns to look at her. "Mike! Watch out!" Monodramon yells, giving his partner only enough time to look in time to see Brachimon lunging at him, preparing for a headbutt.

"Ahh!" he yells, not having time to do anything before there's a bright light from behind Alicia that even stops Brachimon in his tracks, and time seems to stop as they look over at it, watching as the digiegg cracks, then breaks. Alicia gasps and scrambles to sit near it, forgetting everything else, as her partner finally emerges.

She's a young plant, looking more like a bud than an actual creature but she has eyes and a mouth and stares eagerly at Alicia. "Nyoooooo," she cries out, hopping around before leaping into Alicia's outstretched arms. Alicia hugs her tightly and they laugh and cry together before Bracimon stomps towards the digidestined once more, reminding them of his presence.

"Nyo!" the baby digimon exclaims, not liking him at all. She hops onto Alicia's shoulder and slings the two leaves atop her head towards him, striking him with seeds that explode upon contact. He roars and whips his head back and forth in aggravation, opening himself up for what comes next: Monodramon charges in and bites Brachimon hard along the neck, fragmenting his data and causing him to destabilize. A quick series of punches with his claws extended and Brachimon's body fails him, data drifting through the mid-afternoon air as the creature disappears.

Alicia stutters and hugs her partner closer, tears pouring down her face. "Still a badass, no matter how little you get," she sobs. "Thank you, Ny... Nyo... I don't know what your name is."

"Nyokimon," Monodramon offers helpfully as she sniffs and wipes at her face. "PRetty cool attack there, helping distract Brachimon long enough for me to get into position to finish him off."

Nyokimon babbles at him, hopping off of Alicia's shoulder and landing on Monodramon's forehead, beaming down at him. He merely laughs and waits carefully until Alicia scoops the little creature up, hugging her close. Mike sighs and shakes his head. "So much for a peaceful outing, huh? Let's go back before something else happens."

Alicia agrees, but secretly she's glad all of this happened because she now has her partner back and she's seen with her own eyes that Nyokimon hasn't lost any of her spirit. She smiles and kisses the top of Nyokimon's head, between the leaves, and feels as the little digimon squirms and chatters. "I'm so glad you're back," she whispers.


	77. chapter 77

His head aches. His body feels fuzzy. Dark eyes blink open a few times, dirty nails scraping through sand and grime as he tries to crawl forward, find a way to get up to his knees. His voice sounds unlike his own when he whimpers and grabs at his throbbing ribs. "Brit," he calls out weakly. "Lopmon?" Heath groans and whimpers, somehow finding the strength to roll over onto his back where he can see the sun, feel the wind on his face, through his scraggly hair.

His memories feel distorted, wrong, and he can't remember what happened to him. Until he hears disturbingly familiar whispers, his skin growing pale. "Oh, no, no-" Flashes of being controled, of seeing Wade's horror-filled eyes, of Akadimon's rage filled, murderous thoughts. "Oh no," he grunts, finally making it to his feet. "I gotta- I gotta do somethin'..." Luke can help, he's pretty sure, so he stumbles away from the body of water he can just see out of the corner of his eye, trying to reorient himself. Remember where the base is that they'd all congregated at so often.

But he's only walked for a couple of minutes when a bone-melting pain shoots through his core, down and out. He collapses to his knees and cries out, soon evolving into screams that echo through the surrounding areas and scares up birds and animals of all types. He whimpers and whines before falling silent, his eyes opening slowly. Dark brown fading into a pale grey, he smirks and makes it to his feet easily, Arkadimon wiping his hands on the dusty pants that Heath's been stuck in for weeks by now. "Almost, almost," he singsongs. "But no cigar... you're mine now. All mine. And I ain't giving you up this easily..."

Heath can't see, he can barely hear, but can tell when they start to move. In the direction he'd been trying to get, towards Luke's area. Towards the portal that... that... _oh no,_ he thinks, trying to fight free of the paralyzing force holding him locked up in this personal hell. _NO!_ There's nothing he can do. Just partially sense as Arkadimon sneaks up to the group as they prepare to return to earth, lurking just far enough away that he remains unnoticed. Heath feels a shock of power as his Digivice is brought forward, aimed towards the portal, and then... then... they destabilize into data, reforming on the other side.

In an arena on earth, the wrestlers unaware of what's going on as they readjust to being back in the real world. Heath struggles and screams, blind and deaf, mute and worthless as he realizes what Arkadimon could now use his body to do to people. Memories of what had happened the last time a Digimon made its way to this world replaying through Heath's mind, how badly damaged Chicago had ended up, he screams and screams, pleading for someone to turn around. To see him, stop what's about to happen at any means necessary- but it's too late, Arkadimon slips out of the exit door and breathes in the crisp evening air of freedom, his lips parting into a sneer as he walks on ahead, evil purposes in mind.


	78. chapter 78

Zack and Dolph exchange glances as they walk through the virus sector. With everything going on, tensions are at an all-time high. Not that they'd been all that relaxed since being chosen as Digidestined, but still. With Heath being possessed, and Palmon being deleted, the group of them start to rethink the entire splitting up into pairs decision. But there's little that can done about it now. Besides, with Wade's return from filming his movie, things feel a little more promising. If anyone could save Heath, it'd be him, after all.

"Hey, bro," Zack's just said when they hear something in the distance. "What is that?" he demands, cutting himself off. Dolph frowns and looks around, unsure himself, when Zack mumbles, "I swear, it almost sounds like..." He falls silent as a flicker of something appears in the horizon, Zack's jaw dropping. "Oh hell no," he gasps, causing the Digimon and Dolph both to look at where he's gazing in shocked horror.

"Gokimon!" Impmon exclaims as Patamon makes a strangled kind of noise deep in his throat. "Everyone down!" But it's too late, the insect type Digimon are flying through, over them, all around, and Zack is standing very still, pale, while Dolph tries to batter the large winged beasts away.

"They're friggin cockroaches!" Dolph screams, bashing one over the head with his fist and causing it to go loopy as it flies away. "Son of a bitch! What IS this?!" Most Gokimon fly away, leaving the humans and their partners alone, but the one Dolph had just hit makes a sharp u-turn and crashes right into Dolph's back, "Ahhh! What the fu-?!"

Finally Zack moves into action and, once more grateful for his being just a little bit taller than Dolph, grips the Gokimon by his rough shell under his wings. "Hey! Leggo of me!" he screams in a rough voice, thrashing around and clearly trying to prepare an attack against them.

Zack grits his teeth and ignores the wings bashing into his face and upper body. "I _hate_ cockroaches," he mumbles, surprising all of them by pulling out a lighter from his pocket and pressing it against the Digimon's body, releasing him as soon as the flames eat at his body and wings.

Gokimon's screaming in pain when Impmon lunges forward, Patamon behind him. After shooting bubbles at him, Patamon falls back and lets Impmon take over, flames coming from the tips of his fingers and turning the bubbles into flaming balls in the sky which compact with Gokimon's body, making the flames around him burn hotter. This destabilizes his body even further and he quickly deletes.

Dolph blinks, sucking in a deep breath. "Um, thanks, kid." He pauses, thinking hard. "Why are you carrying around a lighter!?"

"I'm a New Yorker, bro. Never know when you're going to need to burn something up." Zack makes a face.

"You little pyro, you," the Showoff smirks. "I guess I can't complain that much after all of this."


	79. chapter 79

"Zack!" Dolph cries out. "Impmon, get him!" It's another Botamon, eyes lit with crazed fury and Zack gasps, gripping his chest as he struggles for breath. Dolph doesn't know why anything would want to target baby Digimon but it's a sad part of the reality of the horror they find themselves in, so sometimes... it's a cruel part of the job that they have to destroy the young creatures as quickly as they might older ones.

But Zack, to the shock of Dolph and the partner digimon, stops him. "No, wait," he struggles out, hand still holding his chest protectively. "Wait..." Stumbling forward, he kneels down by the small digimon, his breaths still rough, raspy. "You're just scared, aren't you? You pack quite a punch, lemme tell you... when you digivolve, you're gonna be so strong..." He coughs again and reaches out for the little guy, ignoring when he hisses and looks like he wants to shoot more lung-deflating bubbles at Zack, but Zack moves just a little bit faster and, while distracting him with one hand, uses the other to press his digivice to the creature's side.

There's a blinding flash of light, Botamon cries out in a frenzy of pain, and then everything falls still. Silent. Peaceful, almost. The baby digimon abruptly starts to wail, his eyes now the normal shade of orange that all Botamon's eyes generally are and Zack collapses back onto his butt before scooping the little guy up and just holding him. It has to hurt, his breathing still sounds awful, but it's just Zack.

Like most babies, Botamon eventually brushes it off, stares up at Zack adoringly for a moment, before squirming free and hopping off to find his fellow Botamon. Dolph watches him go before kneeling next to Zack, hand warm on his clammy shoulder. "How did you know using your digivice to purify his data would work?" he wonders quietly.

"Didn't," Zack gasps, his forehead resting against Dolph's shoulder. "Lucky guess."

"You idiot," Dolph says, equally exasperated of Zack's thoughtless actions and fond of his inate goodness. "Mind?" When Zack shakes his head, Dolph slowly unbuttons his shirt and stares at the bruises already showing along his chest and ribcage. "Geez, kid. Let's get you home, get some ice... you're gonna need it."

"I already do," Zack groans out as Dolph stands and holds his hand out. Levering Zack up is difficult, because he makes these sad little whimpering noises with each movement, but Dolph perseveres, aware that he can't do anything for him here. "Thanks, bro."

"Any time, kid."


	80. chapter 80

Life had been insane, putting it simply. Heath had been taken by Arkadimon just before Wade had been sent to England to film a movie, which kept him from entering the Digiworld, trying to find a way to rescue Heath. Every minute not spent in meetings with staff from the movie, or behind the camera, he dwelled on how to rescue Heath the fastest upon his return to the WWE roster. Even random check ins from the other Digidestined hadn't calmed him because silence never meant anything good, especially when to do with Heath. Heath was at his best when he was vocal and excited, silence never meant anything good from the man.

So Wade had been relieved to return to the States. Relieved to resume wrestling, relieved to step foot in the Digiworld once more. But he hadn't seen Heath, or heard anything about a suspicious human. It was quiet. It was peaceful. It was _awful._ He soothes Lopmon and even checks in on Boodah, who is miraculously fine. Wade takes him for a long walk, still lost in thought, until he hears it. Footsteps behind him. Boodah, who is normally calm and agreeable during walks, starts rearing up as if to fight, his ears low against his head as he begins to growl. "Whoa, boy, what's wrong?"

Growing more and more certain that it's the owner of the footsteps behind him causing Boodah to lose his ever-loving canine mind, Wade turns slowly and... comes face to face with his best friend for the first time in weeks. " _Heath,_ " he breathes out, hands almost dropping Boodah's leash in shock.

Heath's sneer is wrong, his eyes are dull, and all in all, it's clear that he's still under Arkadimon's control. But he's on earth, Wade has a chance! He can do this now... one-on-one, just them. He'd put the Digimon back in their digivices for this walk to not freak the neighbors out, but he's relieved to call upon them now, watching Heath's face closely as Lopmon appears. There's no sign, not even a twinge, but Wade keeps it together. Fishes out his digimental and holds it aloft along with his digivice. Lopmon hops onto Wade's head and watches grimly as Gatomon changes into Nefertimon with some envy.

Nefertimon stares at Arkadimon with an unimpressed sneer and shuffles closer to him. "You will not possess Heath Slater's body for much longer, vile creature. I will make sure of it."

He laughs at her, Heath's normally boisterous, life-loving guffaw sounding ugly and twisted. Wade hates it. "I will just come back again and again and again until you are all crushed under my feet," he tells her coldly.

"Good luck with that," Nefertimon says coolly, a blinding beam of light blasting out out of nowhere and bringing with it a slab of stone. As she slams it towards Heath, Boodah paces restlessly at the end of his leash, clearly agitated by the sights and sounds around him. Lopmon eventually hops off of Wade's head and uses his lengthy ears as wings to float down and settle on top of Boodah. Wade can't decide if the dog knows Heath's partner already or can recognize a friendly presence because he relaxes and pants at Lopmon as the Digimon pets him, Nefertimon and Arkadimon's war raging on.

The most frightening part of it all is that, even though Arkadimon's in the body of a human, he's able to access his Digimon attacks and use them normally, tentacles growing from Heath's hands and legs, circling around and trying to pierce Nefertimon, who's doing all she can to dodge them. This attracts Boodah and Lopmon's attention and the dog barks sharply just for one of the tentacles to swoop back around and slap him, sending him skittering and whining off of the sidewalk into the street.

"No!" Wade yells, moving quickly to get him out before traffic comes through. "Boodah!" He's huge, but it's manageable, even with Wade's history of arm injuries. Adrenaline, he thinks, helps as well as he hoists the big dog up and carries him a few feet to safety. "You're ok, you're ok."

But Lopmon is not, tears in his eyes as he stares at the body of his now mutated partner. "Heath, I'm so sorry," he whispers. "Lop punch! Petit Twister!" He alternates between his attacks, sometimes slapping Heath with his ears again and again, and sometimes blasting him with a small tornado that causes him to double up as he struggles for air. He's emotional, he's in agony, and he doesn't realize until it's too late- a tentacle slaps him far, far away into a building and he collapses down, sliding to the pavement.

"This is your fate!" Arkadimon screams at them in the bastardization of Heath's voice that sounds so awful to all of their ears. Wade and Nefertimon can do nothing but gape, the armor digimon finally acting and moving forward to attack Heath with another pillar of stone when there's a strange flash of light. "No," a familiarly accented voice replies, the normal tones that they're used to this time. "No, your'e wrong." It suddenly makes sense. Heath is fighting against Arkadimon! And for an insane moment, he'd won out control of his own body.

Overwhelmed, Wade stares down at the thrumming digivice in his hands and realizes that it's not his- it's orange, not a dark blue. It's Heath's. He looks up, the pieces of the puzzle fitting together, and he instinctively tosses it to his friend, watching as more awareness returns to Heath's eyes, his hand reaching out for the digivice. When he snags it, there's a sonic boom like sound and Wade instictively drops to his knees, shielding his head... but when he looks up, Heath is standing before him, healthy and whole... awash in brilliant, beautiful light.

"I'm so sorry," he gasps, southern accent at its maximum. "I can't... stay for long... but Lopmon... Go, partner. _GO!"_

Lopmon needs to hear nothing else as the power of the digimental that he had unearthed when crashing into that building and the light of the digivice circles his body. "I'll get you back, Heath! I promise! Lopmon armor digivolve to..." His body changes, grows. Flames surround him, licking at his fur and paws. "Lynxmon!" he cries out, voice deeper.

Nefertimon circles Arkadimon, Lynxmon shaking off the leftover power from the digivolution, and immediately tackles his partner again, pinning him to the ground. It's still Heath in there, which makes this harder, but when Heath looks up at him, he merely smiles. "I know ya will. I'm proud of ya, Lynxmon. You're... incredible..." And that's it, his eyes turn dark, his voice becomes evil, and Heath is gone once more.

"I don't know what to do to fix this," Lynxmon gasps as he stares down at his warped partner, who could slice him to pieces with a tentacle at any moment.

"I have an idea, but I'm not sure if it'll work," Nefertimon says slowly. "And you'll have to get off of him to try it. Do you know my combo attack? I can normally only do it with another Digimon with a light-based attack, but perhaps your flames will be an alright stand in..." The digimon stare at each other for a moment.

"I'm willing to try anything," Lynxmon whispers, slowly pulling away from Heath.

Arkadimon sneers, his tentacles already whipping around, but then- he yowls in pain. Boodah had leapt, Boodah had bit into the nearest one, and Boodah was hanging on. "Foolish mutt!" Arkadimon screams, trying to shake him off, but nothing was working. "GET OFF!"

Wade decides to help. Lunges into the fray and starts slamming his elbow into as many as he can. It hurts, it's tiring, but it distracts Arkadimon long enough for Lynxmon and Nefertimon to get the timing right. "THERMAL MANE!" "GOLDEN NOOSE!" Two ropes of flame and light combine to circle around Heath's body, ensnaring his tentacles and, as much as the flames clearly hurt, the light seems to be affecting him more as he screams and tugs at Heath's orange hair.

"NO! SON OF A BITCH, STOP!" His control is wavering, Heath's body arching and thrashing around as the light and fire engulf him. Wade is afraid that they've killed his best friend but then a flood of data streams from his pores before simply disappearing and all any of them can do is watch and hope as Heath sags against the ground, his face shadowed by his hair so none of them can see his expression, if he's ok.

Wade finds his strength eventually, enough at least to step awkwardly over and kneel by his best friend. When Wade touches him, his flesh is warm, his hair is soft. He _feels_ fine, seems unburnt, but... "Heath?" he whispers. "Heath?"

"I'm here. I think," Heath mutters after a moment and Wade closes his eyes, his hand tightening on Heath's shoulders.

"You bloody fool, you scared me half to death," Wade is in the middle of lecturing him when Heath tips forward and buries his face in Wade's chest, effectively quieting his rant.

"Sorry," he mumbles, clearly exhausted. Wade closes his eyes and wraps an arm around Heath, ignoring the fact that ordinarily he's not much for hugging. "Sorry for attackin' ya... and sorry for everythin' else... but not sorry for savin' ya when you almost drowned, a'course..."

Wade laughs weakly, blinking hurriedly to keep from crying. _He's back, the bloody ignoramous is back..._ "Of course... stop apologizing and just sleep, you ridiculous man," he sighs as Lopmon and Gatomon, now dedigivolved, surround them, Boodah close behind.

"That sounds nice," Heath sighs before wrapping his free arm around Boodah's warm neck and squeezing him. Lopmon floats up and rests on top of his head, a small smile on his face. "I've missed y'all..."

He sounds halfasleep, barely with anything, so Wade gives it a minute before mumbling, "We've missed you too."

Heath chuckles, shattering Wade's hope, and sighs, nuzzling deeper into his warmth. "I heard that."

"Shut _up_ and go to sleep, Heath."


	81. chapter 81

"Well," Dean drones as he and Seth walk side by side through the rocky plains of the virus sector. "Bet you're relieved Heath's been found and saved, so ya don't have as much responsibility on your head for us all."

"Pfft, you're all adults, I hold no responsibility for whatever nonsense you get into." Seth forces his hands into his skin tight jeans' pockets and walks ahead of him.

"Yeah, keep tellin' yourself that," Ambrose mutters, remembering all of the times Seth had broken up arguments between he and Roman, before Seth left them the first time, then betrayed them in the worst possible way and bonded them for life as true brothers. He watches Seth's back as he walks on, his shoulders tense. He'd always been the one to overthink, fret over everything and anything until Dean and Roman had dragged him out for a beer, ignoring his complaints and fussing.

The new Seth might not admit it, but Dean knows it weighs on him. Can tell that it's more than just the pressures of being champion weighing on him. Wonders, not for the first time, if maybe... just maybe... somewhere deep inside, Seth regrets pushing away his family for money and fame. But that's neither here nor there, what's done is done, and now they're once more entangled together because of this whole Digidestined thing.

Dean shakes his head and pulls out his Digivice, peering at the screen once more. They're close to the flickering beacon for help on the screen, almost on top of it, and he immediately looks around, a cursory glance out of curious more than actual worry. Otamamon is also peering here and there, trying to spot the cause of the distress, but there's nothing-

Until, that is, Seth turns sharply around and looks like he's about to say something, just to cut himself off. "SHIT! Ambrose, move!"

He feels it before he sees it, turning slowly and staring at the wall of flames coming straight towards him. He's frozen in place when he feels a strange impact from behind him, a heavy weight falling across his waist. "Asshole, you never listen to me!" Seth yells at him, his hands digging into Dean's shoulders. "Open your damn eyes!"

He's regained his faculties surprisingly quickly considering how close he came to being charboiled, but Seth sounds this side of panicked and he wants to see what his former brother will do, so he lays still, keeps his eyes closed and waits.

"Dean, you son of a bitch," Seth grits out, reaching out and slapping his face. "Wake up!" Betamon digivolves into Seadramon behind him while Otamamon pats Dean's shoulder, trying to revive him.

Dean can only hold it in for a few moments before he cracks, lips parting into an obnoxious laugh. "Knew you still cared," he says, pushing Seth away and sitting up. Only when he gets a good look at the scorched earth where he'd been standing a few minutes earlier does he see just what Seth had spared him from. He swallows and stands, dusting his hands off. "Go get 'em, Otamamon!"

Seth clearly isn't going to let that happen, however, ordering Seadramon to Digivolve once more and this time, Megaseadramon lunges forward and searches out the cause of the flames. Seth can see it, vaguely, from where he's standing a few feet away from Dean, large and hulking, with a bizarrely muscular right arm looking uneven next to a more normal sized left arm. He has monstrous teeth and claws and all in all, Seth hates having to send his partner after him but nothing can be done for it.

Megaseadramon is also daunted by him, alternating between ice and lightning attacks to try to hold him down, keep him from blasting more flames out, but it barely makes the beast flinch. He whips his large arm out and slams it into Megaseadramon, sending him skidding across the hard ground towards Dean and Seth, who tense up as they watch. The sea beast finds his way back up and resumes attacking with more ice and lightning, until he whips his tail around Cyclomon's arm and squeezes tighter and tighter.

Seth's eyes widen and he's about to bark out a warning as Cyclomon prepares to breathe fire upon him, but Dean grabs him. "Shut up unless you want to kill him," he warns Seth, the two of them watching tensely as MegaSeadramon shifts, writhes around and... maneuvers Cyclomon's massive arm in front of him, shielding him from the flames as they eat at the thick muscles, tearing through them and shedding more and more data with each burst of heat. Cyclomon screams in agony as MegaSeadramon pulls away and dedigivolves, more than a little singed himself from the risky attempt.

Somehow, thankfully, it works and as Seth runs forward to scoop Betamon up, examine the burns spreading along his back towards his fin, Cyclomon deletes right in front of him, his data spreading over Seth before disappearing entirely. "Are you ok?!" he demands of Betamon, hugging him closer.

"Fine," his partner whispers weakly. "Just need some rest..."

"Right, yeah," Seth sighs, relaxing a little as he places his partner back in his digivice. Sagging back against the rocks, he tries to breathe normally... until he spots Dean's eyes on him. "What?!"

"Told you you care," he smirks, walking past him with a spring in his step.

"Shut up, Ambrose! And stop humming, dammit!"


	82. chapter 82

Dean is having a good day all around. Roman's number 1 contender for Seth's World title, and that makes him happy because Roman's his brother, and Roman has deserved this chance for months by now. Not to mention that it pisses Seth off, and Dean gets to see it first hand while they walk through the Digiworld towards the river to check out the latest issue.

"Take that smirk off of your stupid face, Ambrose," Seth snaps as if reading his mind. "We're here to help Digimon, and the last thing I need is you lurking behind me thinking about all the different ways you're imagining me losing my belt. Which, by the way, will never happen."

"Keep telling yourself that, Seth," he says with a pleased grin. "In a few weeks, Roman's gonna be champion and you won't be able to say or do a damn thing about it. Your little Authority cronies might even wise up and see what a worthless pick they made to be their golden boy."

"It won't happen!" Seth insists. Dean doesn't see it coming- Seth doesn't either, obviously- but one moment they're glaring at each other, Seth walking backwards while Dean approaches him with a smug look on his face, and then Seth falls back with a startled yep and a splash.

They _were_ close to the lake shown on the map, but Dean didn't think it was _this_ close. Then Seth cries out and Dean realizes blood is steadily tinting the crystal blue water rippling between them. "What the hell?!" he demands, looking closer to realize there's a digimon swimming around in the depths of the water. He kneels down and tilts his head, staring at it in surprise.

Seth starts to scramble, realizing that something's in the lake with him and Dean finally moves into action, reaching out and gripping his arms. "Don't fight me!" he snaps, relieved when Betahmon and Otamamon lunges forward and dives into the water to try to help get Seth free from the messed he'd fallen into. "I should totally film this and show H and Stephanie what they've invested in..."

"Shut up if you're not going to help-" Seth's yelling when Dean finally pulls him up and out and they crash back onto the ground, Seth laying on top of Dean. "Ow."

"Hey, I helped," Dean mumbles, his head falling back against the ground. When he lifts his hand, he can see blood smeared across his palm and this gets him to move. He rolls Seth over and sits up, trying to get a good look at him. His pants are torn, one shoe's missing entirely, and all in all it looks pretty grim. "Otamamon?"

There's an explosion under the surface and water rains down upon them, Seth flinching at the first deluge. "Dammit... what just happened?" Betamon and Otamamon return, looking a little worse for the wear, and Seth stares at them.

"It was a Ganimon," Betamon explains, analyzing the deep gouges along Seth's feet and legs. "Apparently he was in the water and you landed on him..."

"Just my luck," he grunts. "Dammit, I'm bleeding a lot." He sputters and struggles when Dean leans down and pulls him to his feet once more, ignoring his protests. "Let go of me!"

"I could but then you'd fall back down and then what? I'm not lifting your scrawny ass up again."

"I'm not scrawny!" Seth yells, incensed.

"Uh huh." Dean pinches Seth's side a few times as he helps him limp back to the digiport, smirking when Seth slaps at him, glaring viciously. _He'll be fine. Long as he stops being a dumbass and falling on digimon..._


	83. chapter 83

The group of them are standing around Luke's compound, a sober air about them all. Seth Rollins is standing before the digital man, balancing precariously on crutches. "As you can tell," he says tensely, Betamon by his side and Dean lurking nearby just in case, pacing anxiously from side to side, "I injured myself during a match this week. I thus can't continue to be the leader of the Digidestined because I won't be on the road while I rehab."

Luke nods, his eyes dark as he looks down at Seth's knee. "I see. I'm sorry to hear that, you were a decent leader, Seth. When you are healthy, we'll have a place for you."

"Thank you." He limps back, still adjusting to his crutches, and Dean approaches like he's going to help him. "I've got it." There's no malice in his voice, he merely sounds tired, and it's not enough to make Dean step back. They walk side by side to the portal and Dean holds his digivice out, helping Seth to return home where he'll be safe. "By the way," he adds, hobbling back around to face the others. "If I can make a suggestion for the new leader, I think it should be Dean."

Before the others can even think of a response to this out-of-nowhere suggestion, Seth turns and holds his device up, going into the portal. The remaining digidestined, including the recently returned Alberto, exchange glances. "We're screwed," Heath mumbles.

Once it's agreed, reluctantly, that Seth's wishes will be respected and they will at least _try_ to accept Dean as interim leader, the groups go their individual ways. Miz and Alicia both seem relieved to be alone, away from the bickering groups and other drama that is building after Seth's injury. None seem that thrilled with Ambrose as their leader, especially since he is the newest member of the group.

Alicia is relieved that Mike doesn't seem to have a problem with it, too distracted talking with Betamon about the recently to be released Santa's Little Helper movie. She giggles, playing with her new hairstyle, pursing her lips at Nyokimon as she waves her leaves in time with Alicia's hair. "Cutey," Alicia coos, cuddling the baby Digimon close to her. She hears a sharp thud and tilts her head, looking up. "Oh no," she gasps, squeezing Nyokimon as she rushes forward. "Miz?!"

Both Mike and Monodramon are down, sprawled across the ground. She leans down and tries to shake him awake, rolling him over so he can breathe, something... but he continues to just lay there, motionless and pale. "What happened?" she demands, kneeling down and checking his breathing. "Well, you're at least still breathing..."

Nyokimon starts to freak out, whining and squirming around in Alicia's arms, getting free and landing by Alicia's knee. Before she can be scooped back up, she blows bubbles at the ground.

"Stop that!" a rough voice snaps, a strange looking rabbit-like creature leaping out of a hole in the dirt. He's covered in scars and all around looks grimey. "Stupid baby digimon," he snaps, clawing at Nyokimon. The baby creature is knocked back roughly, laying limp as Alicia continues to try to help Mike, her jaw dropping as she witnesses what happens to her partner.

"No! Nyokimon!" she cries out, memories of Palmon being deleted flashes through her mind. She's just gotten up to grab the baby when the beast known as Gazimon lunges in front of her, his teeth bared. "Get out of my way," she says warningly.

"Make me," Gazimon says, stepping towards her menacingly... when a blinding flash of light stops both of them in their tracks.

Nyokimon grows into a larger, green bodied creature with legs and eyes that almost resemble seed bulbs, her leaves spreading out wider as well. "Tanemon!" she calls out, racing forward to stand between Alicia and Gazimon.

More bubbles impact his skin, making his fur stick up in all sorts of direction, and he growls. "You bitch!" he yells, going around in circles and trying to flatten his fur back down. "No one messes up my beautiful fur!"

"And no one hurts my friends," Alicia declares, sneaking up on him and pressing her digivice against his skin, holding on as it thrums in her hands and cleanses his data. He looks bemused as the light fades away before settling low to the ground and running off. Alicia closes her eyes and sighs, turning to Tanemon. "You digivolved!" Hugging her, she kisses her on the forehead. "Thank you so much..."

They sit and stare at Mike's snoring form, Alicia smirking. "I guess we should try to wake him up... but I think we're going to be here for awhile longer either way. Want to play?"

Tanemon's eyes light up. "Yes!" she exclaims, wiggling her paws around excitedly as Alicia giggles.


	84. chapter 84

Mike is cranky after losing to Ziggler. He had had one shot- perhaps the last real opportunity he's ever going to get at the WWE title- and he'd squandered it. He grouses over it, watching Alicia and Tanemon try to figure out where on the map their latest mission is at, since they're surrounded by a number of small villages. Monodramon stands by him, looking as unimpressed as he is with everything, when Alicia turns to look at them.

"Hey, boys, are you going to help figure this out or just stand there like a couple of bumps on a log?"

Mike makes a face at her before nudging Monodramon forward. They've just taken a few steps forward when there's a sharp cracking sound behind them and some force shoots through the ground, sending them both down onto their knees. Alicia screams and Tanemon squeaks out, "Parrotmon!" Mike rolls onto his back and looks up in shock at the green bird hanging in midair, his beak gaping open.

There's a loud squeeching noise and both Mike and Alicia grab their ears as sonic waves threaten to deafen them. Monodramon, thankfully, isn't bothered too badly by it and lunges upwards, fists at the ready as he tries to punch the creature when it hovers a little closer. Instead he gets pecked, data pouring from the wound as he crashes back against the ground. "Monodramon!" Mike cries out, forgetting about his hearing as he rushes forward and lunges for his partner.

Tanemon looks frantic, shooting bubbles off every which way in her excitement, and Alicia grabs her just in time as another sonic wave blast heads right at her. Alicia squeals and dives for cover, just barely avoiding it. Mike grits his teeth and pulls Monodramon to his feet. "Go!" he yells, needing to end this before one of them legitimately gets hurt.

Monodramon nods and digivolves into Strikedramon, rushing after Parrotmon. Their fight is brutal and fast but Strikedramon even isn't enough, Mike finally pulling out his crest. "Digivolve further!" he yells, eyes gleaming with anger and a deepseated need to see this through as quickly as possible.

Cyberdramon is more evenly powerful, diving forward and quickly taking care of Parrotmon. As soon as his data scatters across the ground, Alicia and Mike both relax, exchanging glances. "Well, another one bites the dust," Mike sighs, relieved.

Neither notice a golden shimmer not that far away, nor hear the soft murmur. "I would not grow so confident, Mike Mizanin," Shakamon says slowly. "Things will definitely not always be _this_ simple, I'm afraid to say..."


	85. chapter 85

Alberto Del Rio's return had been abrupt. To perhaps the rest of the world as much as to himself. Truthfully, indy wrestling is a young man's game. Somewhere between injuring his quad and flying in painfully cramped airplanes to go from indy event to indy event, Alberto had realized he was just too old for this. Though he's proud of the year of work he'd just done, he misses how WWE catered to his needs with better flights, and better hotels, and all around just better money.

So he returns to the company. He tries to make inroads, even starts something up with Zeb Colter- not that he expects it to last for long, but it's something for now. He misses Ricardo, but his former ring announcer is training in India, and he seems happy enough, so Alberto decides not to ruin it for him.

With his return to WWE, he'd also been brought back into the fold as Digidestined... and at a good time as well, since Seth Rollins had injured himself on the first night of the European tour, leaving them short a digidestined. Alberto had thought perhaps he would made leader since he'd been here since the start, but no... Seth gives it to Dean before leaving, and just Alberto's luck, the group has been divided into teams and he's put with Dean.

Alberto and Dean had both been in the semi-finals for the WWE World Championship, but Alberto had lost and Dean had gone on to lose to Roman in the finals. Neither have much to say so they walk on silently, their Digimon peering around but remaining quiet as well. Alberto only remembers Dean from vague interactions here and there from his first run in WWE, but the main thing he remembers is when they'd attacked Ricardo for no good reason. He frowns at the memory before shaking it off and checking his digivice. They're close to the indicated area on the map, which is another relief, because he wants to finish this and go home, see if perhaps he could get ahold of Ricardo. They haven't talked in much too long...

He's just about to take another step when Gabumon cries out, "Alberto!" and tackles him aside, the two of them rolling over in time to see an intense laser beam slice through where Alberto had just been standing.

"Well, wouldcha look at that," Dean says, raising both eyebrows. "See anything, Otamamon?"

"No," he says, but it doesn't matter to Alberto in the slightest.

"Digivolve!" he commands his partner, holding up his long unused digivice. Gabumon eagerly does as he commands, reforming as Garurumon. The wolf Digimon looks around, smelling out the attacker as best as he can. "Anything?"

Garurumon lets out a soft grunt before leaping forward and blasting fire all around, which steadily burns the area around them. From there it's only a waiting game as the creature who had attacked earlier gets smoked out. They hear his coughing first and Alberto narrows his eyes as the digimon appears. He's shaped like a chess piece, with a scepter held in hand. His clothes are purple and black, and his headpiece has a white spike on top. "BISHOP LASER!" he yells out, Alberto flinching as the attack this time ignores him and heads right for Dean.

"Whoa!" he cries out, diving away.

"Garurumon!" Alberto yells out- but there's a sudden, searing pain along his chest and he falls to his knees, shocked by the agony of it all.

"Alberto!" his partner yells out, bounding over and shooting flames back at Bishop Chessmon in an attempt to shield him.

Alberto digs around in the sand and dirt, trying to find a reprieve for the pain he's in. "That's not... the honorable way to fight," he grits out, hands shaking as he struggles to sit up. "Perhaps we should teach you..." There's a joke in here, somewhere, he thinks. If any of his opponents from the last five years would hear him now, they would mock and belittle him. But he has changed, things are different now. He'd returned to Mexico a hero, and had done so many other incredible things... Returning to WWE had diminished that in some people's eyes, he assumes, but it was for his own livelihood, and his family's...

Alberto looks up then, his fingers grazing against something. "Garurumon," he chokes out, gripping the item and prying it from the ground. "Garurumon, NOW!" The flash of light that comes from his digivice and hits the thrumming item in his hand, merges and strikes his partner, causing his body to strip away. Grow. Reform as a larger creature with four legs and two arms, and huge swords sheathed at his sides.

"Garurumon digivolve to... Vajramon," he declares, landing with a heavy thud on the ground before he turns back to Bishop Chessmon. "I am afraid it is all done for you," he says softly, freeing both of his swords. "You will be destroyed now." Bishop Chessmon does try, clearly. But in the end, his laser against Vajramon isn't much to compare by. Vajramon slices the laser in two before running through and stabbing along Bishop Chessmon's body, deleting it immediately.

"That's how it's done," Alberto sighs in relief, hugging his partner as he dedigivolves back to a much more manageable size. "Let's get out of here."

"Yes, let's."


	86. chapter 86

"Ya know, I like birds," Dean says randomly. It's mid-afternoon and they're approaching another village who had sent out a distress call. Del Rio casts a side glance at him, making a face. "They always look kinda cool flyin' up there like they do." He hums and buries his hands in his pockets, staring up at the various bird-type digimon flying around.

Alberto, however, prefers to keep his feet on the ground and his head out of the clouds, but if it keeps Dean quiet and distracted from him, then very well. They walk towards the village gates, Gabumon and Otamamon at their sides, when more birds, larger this time, more menacing, make their way over the village gates. None seem to care about the digidestined below, flying faster and faster until... there's a horrible, squeeching sound that drowns out every other noise, Dean gritting his teeth against it as Alberto grips his ears and yells something in Spanish.

Finally he spots the culprit- a large creature resembling an eagle, circling them and squawking between each sonic blast that leaves their ears ringing. "Son of a bitch," Dean gasps, his eyes watering. "Otamamon!" Thankfully, his partner shakes it off and nods, digivolving before Dean could even suggest it.

Alberto grips Gabumon and pulls him away, the digimon nearly catatonic as his sensitive ears are rampaged by the brutal attack from above. "Shut this perro up!" Del Rio yells at Dean, who waves him off.

"Go for it, Gesomon!" he orders his large aquatic partner. The lack of water makes this battle a little awkward, but Gesomon can still aim and fire, and he does so wildly, shooting oily bursts from his tentacles which misses more than it hits, but does succeed at distracting Aquilamon from shooting off more deafening blasts.

Twisting around, Gesomon sends his tentacles up into the air and wraps them around Aquilamon, bringing him back to the ground. One more blast of ink and the bird digimon is effectively blinded. Still tangled around Aquilamon, Gesomon thrashes, sending the creature against the ground again and again and again until he deletes in a flood of data.

"Good job, Gesomon!" Dean calls out... just to fall silent. More bird digimon are circling them, bizarre looks in their beady eyes. He swallows. "Um..." He checks his digivice to see that the mission is complete, the warning for this village is gone. He turns to Alberto. "Let's get out of here."

As they trudge towards the portal that will take them back to Luke's lair, he tries to ignore how it feels like he's being watched the entire time.


	87. chapter 87

"Do ya ever feel like there's eyes on ya?" Heath asks out of nowhere. They'd been walking quietly enough, the Digimon giggling and playing amongst themselves sometimes, but he and Wade had been mostly quiet. Watchful.

Ever since Heath's kidnapping at the hands of Arkadimon, it'd been hard to see this place as innocent fun anymore. Sometimes, yeah, the battles brought up that old tightrope walk of adrenaline and danger that most of them contended with during wrestling matches, but it's different here. Rawer. Where most of the danger in a wrestling ring comes from wins and losses, with the rare torn ligament or broken bone, lives are at stake. Homes. Whole villages. It's a sobering realization and Wade hates it sometimes. That no matter where they go, or what they do, there's always someone out there trying to ruin things for someone else.

He sighs and glances at Heath. "What do you mean?" He wants to be alert, mindful of his partner's observation, but dammit... the thought of something _else_ going wrong makes him feel so tired, deep to his core.

"Dunno, it just... feels off," Heath murmurs. "Can't you feel it?"

Wade's just shook his head when there's a flash of color and wind gusts through his hair, leaving him frozen as a massive bird-type Digimon rushes Heath, gouging his midsection and chest with its beak. The creature looks almost robotic in nature, its wings and claws especially metallic and sharp. Wade swallows hard as he looks down to find blood splattered at Heath's feet. "HEATH!" he yells out, running forward with Gatomon at his back.

"Lightning Paw!" It works, somehow, distracts the digimon away from Heath and opens him up to further attacks, Gatomon content to use everything at her arsenal to keep the digimon down., no matter how many times it tries to fight back. Until, that is, Gatomon is gripped by his claws and he flies high, high, so very high that Wade can barely see them as he applies pressure to Heath's sluggishly bleeding stomach.

Lopmon, unable to help in the air battle, even if he should digivolve, lays helplessly against Heath's shoulder and cries. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Heath. I didn't see him coming- I didn't..." Heath's dizzy and a little weak, but his touch is sure when he comforts Lopmon by stroking his fingers through his partner's fur.

"Shhhh," he soothes him. "I'm gonna be fine, it ain't your fault."

There's another flash as Gatomon's paw hits steel and then she's freefalling, freaking out, but Wade's waiting with his digimental. "Go!" he calls out to his partner, relieved when the round device in his hands becomes powerful data and then streams up into Gatomon, helping her to regain her Nerfertimon form and land gracefully a few feet away from where Heath and Wade are still slumped. She glances at them for a moment before turning to face her opponent. "Raptor Sparrowmon, you have reached the end of the road," she says calmly. "I will santify you... and your life will be reset."

But before she can say or do anything, the bird type digimon lunges at her with all of the speed he'd originally attacked Heath with. His beak tears into her wing, through it, leaving it a tattered mess and she gasps and screams out, nearly slumping on all fours as fresh data pours from the wound. "No! Nefertimon!" Wade cries out.

She may not be able to fly but she can still fight, and she proves it by shooting off rapid, pain induced beams of energy that blasts again and again where Fly Sparrowmon goes until finally she tricks him and her blasts impact with his side and back, downing him immediately. He crashes not that far from where Heath and Wade are still crounching, her eyes narrowed on him as she opens her mouth wide and releases a large beam of light that destroys him immediately.

Heath is barely strong enough to make it back to Luke's, much less earth, after all of his blood loss, but he succeeds and Wade sees him back to his apartment, hesitating in the doorway as Heath kicks his shoes and jeans off and crawls into bed, the wounds on his chest still disturbingly visible in the soft light of the mood. They stare at each other for a few moments, Heath clearly desperate to go to sleep, when Wade clears his throat and walks inside, shutting the door behind him. "I'm gonna clear those off, and then you can rest," he says simply, going through the bathroom counter until he finally finds what he needs. "This is gonna sting," he warns.

"It's fine," Heath mumbles, gritting his teeth. "Do what you gotta."

Wade offers him a small, pained smile before going ahead with it, trying not to seem too fretful over Heath' struggling agony against the white hot pain in his chest. "You're ok, you're ok," he mumbles, finally finishing and laying Heath back down. He watches him sleep for a moment before smirking darkly. "I say and do a lot of things that probably makes you think I hate you sometimes," he admits to Heath's unconscious form. "But I really do appreciate havin' you as my apartner in all of this madness." Pulling away, he sighs. "Have a good night, Heath."


	88. chapter 88

Miz paces around as Alicia and Palmon watch him. "Can you believe we've been doing this for almost two years now?" she asks idly, not sure why he's so restless, but needing to do _something_ to fill the silence.

He barely focuses on what she's saying, lost in thought. Shakamon had been around, he'd sensed him, sometimes even saw a flash of gold now and again. "I know you're there," he mumbles, glancing down when Monodramon peers up at him. "I know you're watching us. Why not show yourself, Shakamon?"

Time passes, seconds, minutes, what feels like hours and Alicia's about to suggest that they return to Luke's because, even though their digivices had led them to this area, it's peaceful and quiet. She's just opened her mouth when Mike freezes and turns to look behind her. She immediately pauses and turns as well, her lips parted in confusion as she peers at the elderly looking digimon who is walking towards them, his face barely visible through grey hair. A staff with what looks like a claw at the end is in his hand, helping him to walk a little more steadier.

"Who are you?" Mike wonders, suspicious when he doesn't attack, barely moves except to stare at them. "What do you want?"

"Shakamon wished to observe what you would do, but apparently you've been sensing him, so he sent me to talk to you."

Mike nods slowly. "Alright, so he has someone babysitting me, huh?" Alicia looks confused, he notices out of the corner of his eye, and he vows to explain to her, if for no other reason than the fact that they're partners, and she should know what's going on with him in case it should affect any future missions.

"Observing," the digimon corrects with a tense kind of patience. "My name is Jijimon. I am here to make sure that Shakamon's agenda is upheld."

"What _is_ his agenda?" Mike has just demanded when Monodramon and Palmon freeze, their eyes focused somewhere in the distance. "Is something wrong?"

Jijimon is looking in the same direction, adding to the humans' discomfort, but before anything could be done or said, there's a shrill whistling sound, and then... then... the entire world blows up in front of Mike and he feels sharp pain, then nothing but darkness before him.


	89. chapter 89

Alicia stirs first. She grunts and sits up gingerly, running her fingers over her head, across her face. Palmon's next, her partner thankfully stirring under her fingers. Alicia breathes a little easier, looks up. The ground is tore up, covered in scorch marks. She swallows and tries to stand, her legs wobbly but sufficient enough to hold herself up.

Palmon follows her as she wobbles over to where Mike is laying, kneeling down next to him. Jijimon isn't anywhere to be seen. She rests her hand on his shoulder and shakes him. "Mike, please- _Mike-_ " He's unmoving and she grows more and more worried about where Jijimon went, what he was trying to say... what happened to stop him. "Mike, come on!"

She's in the process of shaking him harder when a shadow falls over her and she swallows hard, looking up. Her eyes widen before slipping closed, Palmon swaying with her. "Mike," she tries one last time before losing track of reality.

Time passes. Nothing moves. Monodramon is still, quiet, Mike finally begins to twitch a few minutes later and forces his blue eyes open, peering around uncomfortably. His entire body aches. Everything sucks right now. He grimaces and forces himself up right, crawling over towards Monodramon. "Hey, hey, Monodramon, can you hear me?"

It only takes a few moments before he realizes. Alicia, Palmon, and even Jijimon are gone. His brows furrow. He frowns as he looks around the wrecked surroundings. "What the hell happened?" Shaking Monodramon a few more times, he's relieved when his partner finally shifts and sits up. "Alicia and Palmon are missing," he tells him. "We gotta move."

Monodramon nods groggily and gets up, helping Mike to his feet as well. Together, they begin to trudge back to the portal to notify Luke and the other digidestined that, again, one of their own is missing.

-x

Alicia's eyes are dark as she peers into the equally emotionless eyes of Starmon, a digimon who resembles his name, with hands and legs covered by boots and gloves. His body is sharp looking silver and she's pretty sure if you touch the creature, you would prick your skin and bleed upon first contact. "What do you need from us?" she asks softly.

He laughs and reaches forward, grazing her cheek with his gloved finger. "Soon, very soon," he tells her.


	90. chapter 90

"Y'know," Dean says, pacing around anxiously in front of Luke's hideout, "I admit I'm new to all of this, so some of it may be above my paygrade but seems ever since you decided we should be split into pairs, kidnappings and injuries have been happening more often." Dark blue eyes locked on the Digital World's overseer, he shakes his head. "Now Alicia Fox is missin' and I dunno about you, but I don't wanna risk it happenin' to someone else. So if we gotta split up, let it be in teams of four, something like that, so we're not as vulnerable."

He has a point. Luke even concedes when the others, starting with Mike, back Dean up. "Fine, teams of four from now on. If there's any problem, alert each other through your digivices and, as soon as you can, go help the other group."

"Thank you," Dean says, glad to be listened to seriously for once. He might be eccentric and a little crazy sometimes, but all in all, he is intelligent and he does have some decent ideas rattling around. "Now, what are we doing today?" There are multiple problem areas on the digivice but none of them really seem to interest him, or the others. They're just worried for Alicia more than anything right now.

"I want half of you to search for Alicia, and the rest of you to try to clear up these areas as quickly as possible," Luke says, pointing to the map. "Choose what teams you want to be on."

The eight of them split into two groups and Dean is moderately pleased to find he has Del Rio, Ziggler and Zack on his team. Miz, Heath and Wade opt to search for Alicia, and Luke wishes them well as they go. Most of the spots on the map are minor, digimon either spatting amongst themselves or simple rescue missions that are resolved within minutes of their arrival. Until they find themselves face to face with a giant brown ogre with silver hair and evil looking eyes.

"What is this?" Zack mumbles, in awe at the ugly creature.

"Fugumon," Patamon says uncomfortably.

As if angered by hearing his name, the massive Digimon lunges forward and slams the club- that looks like it was fashioned out bone- at them, coming just short of striking Zack and Patamon. Dolph's eyes flash dangerously and he steps forward, Impmon by his side, already digivolving. Wizardmon sneers and lifts his staff, shooting off overwhelming magic that knocks Fugumon back a few steps.

Anger growing, Fugumon swipes again with his club, but this time Wizardmon meets him halfway, blasting a strong beam straight through him. He gapes for a moment before his body destabilizes, starts to delete. His club slips from his now weak fingers and hits the ground before fading into data at their feet as well. "You alright, kid?" Dolph asks once he's gone and they're safe again.

"Yeah, bro, thanks," Zack says, looking from Wizardmon to Dolph.

"No problem. Come on, let's go back to the group, see if any luck's been madein finding Alicia." Dolph hovers a bit close to Zack as they walk, neither man addressing it even after they reappear at Luke's hideout.

No progress has been made to find Alicia. The group grows more and more glum as time passes with no sign or hint, or hope, in finding the woman.


	91. chapter 91

Change is in the air. 2016 is here, and Heath's actually gotten on TV a couple of times in the last couple of months- even got an interview on the website! The only thing bad in his world, really, is the fact that Alicia Fox is still missing, which makes the Digidestined as a whole tense and uncomfortable... and that Wade is still suffering from neck issues.

Shaking these thoughts from his head, he glances down at Lopmon and grins as they walk along, the others scattered around. He feels more secure, there being four of them in a group now... Something that Dean Ambrose had pushed, a good idea, surprisingly enough. He checks his digivice, realizing that they're close to the spot on the map reflecting that there's a problem. "Hey, guys, we're almost-" His voice dies away. He scrabbles at something tight around his throat, cutting off his air supply.

He chokes and struggles harder, Lopmon's eyes widening in horror as he realizes what's wrong, turning sharply. "Palmon!" he cries out, spotting Alicia's partner not far away, Alicia herself standing nearby with her arms crossed over her chest. "Let him go!"

"Afraid I can't do that," she says smoothly. "His voice was annoying me." Palmon lifts Heath, her grip surprisingly steady as she dangles him a few inches off of the ground. Just enough to hang him.

"His voice annoys all of us," Miz says, stepping forward carefully. "But we don't want him to die. Come on, Alicia, tell Palmon to let him go."

She smirks, watching as Heath's face goes from pale to bright red. Finally Monodramon approaches Palmon and Mike motions to Wade, who steps forward and grips Heath by the legs while the digimon are distracted, trying to support him and take off some of the pressure from his throat. "That won't work, you know," she says, even as Palmon dives to evade Monodramon's swipe, only succeeding in pulling her vines tighter around Heath's throat.

Everyone freezes as Heath struggles and makes weak noises, his eyes bulging out at the added pressure. "Dammit!" Wade yells, still trying to brace him. "Do something, Gatomon!" he yells at his frozen partner and finally she moves, dives forward and slashes Palmon's vines, leaving them shredded and worthless on the ground as Heath is freed and falls to the ground, Wade easing his landing and holding him close. "C'mon, breathe, you ridiculous man, _breathe,_ " he orders, pressing on Heath's sternum roughly. "Dammit-"

Then it happens, Heath gasps and chokes, nearly jerking himself free of Wade's grip but he clings to him tighter, waiting until he stops fighting and opens his eyes, hands curling around Wade's arm. "... O-"

"Don't talk," Wade chides him when he grimaces and grabs at his throat, gasping sharply. "You were almost strangled. Just take it easy." He holds Heath close, glaring at Alicia and Palmon as Alicia beckons her partner closer, Monodramon hesitant as he doesn't want to delete the weaker digimon should he attack too severely.

Alicia's dark eyes look past them to Mike. "You know what you need to do," she says simply before brushing her hair over her shoulder and turning around, flouncing off with Palmon at her feet.

Mike releases a breath, frowning as he kneels down next to Heath and searches his face before turning back to look in the direction Alicia had disappeared. "What did that mean?" he mutters, a foreboding chill creeping down his spine. "I need to do something...? But what...?"

Between he and Wade, they get Heath up, they get him moving back in the direction of the portal, this weighing on all of their minds.


	92. chapter 92

Everything feels off balanced when one of their own is missing. Even though Alberto doesn't know Alicia that well, still. He glances around uncertainly, relieved that Gabumon is right next to him as he trudges after the others. Nothing really has been going the way he wanted it to upon his return- his US title reign, being digidestined again... it all just feels wrong, and he assumes it's because Ricardo isn't by his side but the former ring announcer seems happy in India so he tries to focus on his own career, what needs to be done from here on. To retain his US title, to help find Alicia and ensure she's safe and whole.

"So where is this village?" Dean asks, burying his hands in his pockets as they walk past a cluster of houses.

"Check your digivice," Alberto grumbles when no one else seems in a hurry to respond. Dean stares at him, unimpressed, until Alberto huffs out a sigh and looks at his own. "Should be just ahead," he says simply. Matter of a fact, there's a village just within sight that, as they approach, is proven to be the very blinking light on the Digivice. As they enter, a group of Digimon look up at them, fear in their eyes.

"Oh, help has arrived!" an Agumon exclaims, relief and joy in his voice as he runs up to the Digidestined. "You are our saviors, yes?"

Alberto hesitates as Dean, Dolph and Zack exchange glances. "Sure, bro?" Zack finally speaks up. "Well, I mean, there's some trouble here, right?"

The few Agumons and Koromons visible all hesitate. "Maybe," the initial Agumon who confronted them hedges. "You see, when this village was first made, it was to be a peaceful place for us Agumon and Koromon to live, and although we welcomed a Toy Agumon to reside alongside us, he was disruptive and destroyed everything he touched, so we had no choice but to exile him. On his way out, he promised to return and make us suffer for this humiliation."

"Ok... well, do you know a specific date, or...?" Dean asks, his hands moving around with no obvious rhyme or reason as he considers having to guard this village for who knows how long until the digimon with dark intent returns.

"Actually, we have some idea," another Agumon speaks up. "Neighboring villages have reported seeing a RizeGreymon approaching this area. It's him, it has to be. We need your help to prepare to defend against him."

"Well, at least we have a time frame," Dolph mumbles, turning to look away from the village. "Did they say how far away he was?"

"Not far, and he moves very quickly," a Koromon squeaks fearfully.

"Well, then, guess we'd better be prepared, just in case," Dean mutters, trudging back towards the entrance of the village. "Fan out, we'll keep an eye out on all sides. You all will be fine," he promises the young Digimon, trying to ease their fears.

Zack and Dolph take the west and south sides while Alberto goes east, Dean remaining on the northern track. Pondering how long all of this might take, Alberto glances down at Gabumon, who is searching the sky as best as he can from his height. "See anything?"

"Not yet," he murmurs. "RizeGreymon... they are vicious Digimon, with strong attack powers." He glances up at Alberto. "It's an ultimate level, Alberto. At least most of us can digivolve to that strength, but Otamamon..."

"Right," Alberto mumbles. Another reason he's still not sure Dean was the correct choice as _leader,_ since at least Gabumon could digivolve to ultimate. Hell, even Ziggler's partner could digivolve to mega by now. Dean was just too fresh, too inexperienced. He paces around a bit, watching the sky, listening... when he finally hears it. A distinct roar, off in the distance... but it's not heading his way, no... it's heading towards the front of the village.

He grits his teeth, realizing that the attacking Digimon is targetting their most vulnerable spot. "Come on, Gabumon!" he exclaims, rushing around to the northern part of the village. It takes a good five minutes at a run to reach the area and by the time he arrives, Otamamon is downed, a missile launcher aimed right at him. A second is directed towards Dean and Alberto breathes in deeply, barely lifting his digivice when the digivolution sequence has begun.

Vajaramon stomps against the ground menacingly, watching as finally RizeGreymon turns towards him, losing interest in Otamamon and Dean as soon as he sees the challenge of someone close to his power. Vajaramon laughs dismissively as RizeGreymon growls, aiming his launcher at him instead. As soon as the blast is released, Vajaramon lifts his sword and deflects it, the attack harmlessly blowing up in the sky overhead. Burning fragments rain down but neither digimon seem to mind as they approach each other. "Treasure sword!" Vajaramon cries out, slicing at the dinosaur and scraping along his armor until he slices through flesh.

RizeGreymon screams in pain before aiming his missile launchers once more at Vajaramon, the beast powering them up all at once even as data trickles lazily from the wound. "Trident revolver!" he cries, shooting them off three times in a row. Vajaramon moves quickly, dodges the first, but the second clips his rump and the third hits him directly.

"VAJARAMON!" Alberto cries out, rushing forward and catching his partner as he dedigivolves back to Gabumon, singed and barely breathing. "No, no, no-" His distressed mumbles cease when he looks up to find himself inches away from RizeGreymon. "Ay dios-" RizeGreymon swipes at him, sending him flying backwards, Gabumon still held in his arms.

They land a few feet away, Alberto staring up blankly as he struggles to breathe again. RizeGreymon is coming, Alberto can feel the ground rattling with each step... but then there's a yell. "Hey! Pick on someone your own size, huh!?" and it's Dean, and it's so stupid because Dean can't do anything, Dean is a mere human like himself, with an injured rookie partner... but then he realizes there's a glow coming from nearby, then a crest shoots out and fits perfectly in the palm of Dean's hand. "Otamamon!"

The digimon is still weak but he responds to his partner's voice, he gets to his feet and stumbles forward as the digivolution sequence begins. Once he's settled, once he's grown stronger, Alberto squints at the digimon. Similar to Seth's partner, WaruSeadramon has a bright red body with black armor and a golden horn, his teeth extended as he snarls at RizeGreymon, eager for this rematch.

"Trident revolver!" RizeGreymon yells, shooting rapidly at the newly digivolved creature... but WaruSeadramon dodges, his serpentine body dancing around until he's facing RizeGreymon once more.

"Darkstrom!" he cries out, flooding the area in front of him with a very carefully controled whirlpool- it only surrounds RIzeGreymon, WaruSeadramon keeping the humans safe. As soon as RizeGreymon is surrounded, unable to escape, WaruSeadramon bursts through the wall of water and pierces him with his horn, shattering his armor and leaving him limp on the ground once the water disappears.

He deletes slowly, clearly struggling through the pain, and WaruSeadramon returns to Dean's side, the group of them watching as RizeGreymon fades into little particles of data scattered by the wind. "Well," Alberto sighs, cringing as his body protests the impact of it all. "Gracias." It's weird thanking anyone, but Dean had saved his life, so. Here they are.

"You're welcome. Let's find Zack and Dolph and go home, huh?"

Gabumon is wavering at Alberto's feet and, when WaruSeadramon dedigivolves, Otamamon collapses into Dean's waiting arms, already fast asleep. Alberto nods. "Sounds great."


	93. chapter 93

Zack grimaces as he trudges along after Dean and Alberto. Dean is focused and quiet because of his confrontations with Kevin Owens and Alberto is tense after losing, and winning back, his US title. Dolph is in India. All in all, it's not much fun, being in the Digiworld right now. Zack gnaws on his bottom lip as they get closer to the flashing blip on their digivice foretelling danger. The Digiworld hasn't really been fun in a long time, but still. Having Dolph nearby, listening to everyone get along, if only for a little while, helps to ease his nerves.

Patamon too seems to sense the general unease of the area, flying off of his head and getting a better viewpoint of the land. He doesn't seem to see anything because he quickly returns to Zack's head, yawning vaguely. Zack grins and reaches up, lightly scratching his ears, when they all pause, hearing it. A vicious roar, the sounds of digimon screaming. The three of them exchange glances before racing ahead, their partners leading the way.

It's bloodshed and destruction that greets them, data from deleted victims still thick in the air. A crater covers as far as the eye can see, the ground scorched and smoking around it. Zack gasps as Dean gingerly steps forward. "What the hell-?"

Zack's still trying to make sense of what he's looking at when there's a flash of blue- an explosion- and Dean is only saved by the actions of Gabumon, who had spotted it and tackled him away just in time. Zack gapes at the tall digimon who stares at them from between wings as they unfurl from his body.

Otamamon hisses. "It's Darkdramon!" he exclaims as they take in this new, dangerous creature. "He's awful, please be careful." Leaping forward, Otamamon digivolves into Gesomon and sends his tentacles at the cause of all of this turmoil, trying to catch him off guard- but Darkdramon moves first, slices through Gesomon's white flesh and leaves Dean's partner frozen in agony as his data pours upon the ground.

Darcmon and Garurumon follow suit, trying to defend their comrade, but Darkdramon is faster than them as well, waving his lance at them and keeping them from approaching, none too eager to suffer what Gesomon is suffering, what finally causes him to dedigivolve from. Dean scoops Otamamon up and holds him close as he shudders and cries from the phantom pain of wounds that are no longer physically there.

His speed makes it hard to see but he twists and stares at them before releasing a beam from his eyes that blows between the digimon and strikes Zack right in the chest, shocking all of them. But instead of bleeding, of showing any of wounds, Zack merely freezes, his mouth locked in a gaping position. His eyes seem fixed as Darkdramon approaches and Darcmon moans, realizing what is happening to his partner. "He can paralyze people. Zack!" He flies forward, waving his sword desperately, but Darkdramon stabs his lance backwards and catches Darcmon in the arm, data pouring from the wound immediately.

Garurumon attempts to take advantage of the situation and digivolves again into Vajramon, but this proves fruitless as Darkdramon's gaze falls upon him before he's even finished reforming, immediately freezing him in place as well. "My lord will be much pleased," he muses with a sigh, leaning down to brush his lance across Zack's cheek, smirking as blood drips down his skin. "So very pleased..."

Darcmon feels like screaming as Darkdramon rears his weapon back, clearly about to stab Zack in the chest with it... when he realizes that Zack's eyes have moved. He gasps and stares at his partner, hoping that Zack can see him too. "We still have hope," he breathes. "We still have hope!" It's a yell, it's a curse, it's a cry for help... and then help comes. Zack's digivice blasts out of his pocket, hovers in midair, emitting enough light that Darkdramon retreats a bit, his lance held at bay now, and the warm, beautiful light streams down upon Darcmon's body.

"Darcmon warp digivolve to..." He skips his ultimate form entirely. He goes straight to the highest level of power, mega. His wings multiply, ten of them now circling his body, and his body shifts, becomes covered in blue and white armor. A mask fits securely over his face and he sighs as the power flows through him, his hands opening and closing as he takes it all in, accepts what he has become. How strong he now is. "Seraphimon!"

Turning towards Darkdramon, he tilts his head. "You have made a grave error," he says softly, taking in Zack from here. Makes sure he's breathing, his heart is beating. "I will correct it for you." Stretching out his hands towards the evil creature, he intones, "Seven Heavens!" And just like that, seven orbs of frightening strength are shot from his palms and impacts with Darkdramon. The first couple merely stagger him, but by the fourth, he can barely stay on his feet. By the sixth, he's entirely destabilized and the seventh ends him entirely.

"Whoa," Dean mumbles, still holding Otamamon soothingly. "Bad ass."

But Zack is still motionless, only his eyes moving back and forth, and as the others race forward to check on him, Seraphimon rests a hand on his forehead and tries to sense what's going on in his partner's mind, his body. Finally he sags in relief before dedigivolving back to Patamon, keeping the angelic form proving too much on him when the power is still so new to him. "He's going to be ok," Patamon offers tiredly. "This will just take some time to wear off, he should be good to go in a day or two at most."

Dean sighs in relief. "Good! I didn't want to be killed by Ziggler when he returned because his boyfriend here had become a living statue..." Dean taps Zack on the shoulder and grins when green eyes roll towards him. "Ah, see, you _are_ still in there! Don't worry, buddy, we're gonna take good care of ya!"

"Never thought I'd feel bad for Ryder," Alberto mutters to Gabumon, who nods emphatically as they watch Patamon try to keep Dean from bothering Zack too much, and failing pretty horribly.


	94. chapter 94

"You're sure you're alright?" Dolph asks as he and Zack trudges along. He had returned from India to learn about Zack's meeting with Darkdramon and had felt about two inches tall upon realizing how close Zack had come while he was so far away.

"Yeah, bro, I'm good," Zack promises. "The worst part of it all was that Patamon digivolved to Seraphimon and I was too paralyzed to even move enough to see him. I bet it was badass though."

Dolph nods, lost in thought. "You know we're the first two whose partners have reached that level of power? I wonder why."

Zack ponders it for a moment too before shrugging. "Not sure, bro, but I'm glad we did."

"Me too," Dolph sighs. Dean and Alberto are on the other side of the village, poking around to see why there are multiple warning dots around this area. Everything seems quiet, peaceful, although that doesn't mean much usually. Dolph's about to open his mouth, suggest something- when there's a loud boom and the sound of something fizzling nearby.

Zack turns sharply, just in time to miss a fireball landing where he'd just been standing. His eyes widen and he grips Dolph by the arm, dragging him back a few steps while Impmon and Patamon step forward. It's then that they realize they're by a cave, and... dozens of block type digimon with large green eyes pour out, blowing flames from their mouths and shooting them out like missiles, where they explode all around Zack and Dolph. "Shit!" Zack mumbles, kicking some of the flames out as they try to lick up his shoes.

The flames start to lick at Dolph's jacket and he beats at it and the ends of his hair, gritting his teeth as Impmon and Patamon lunge forward to try to keep the sea of Digimon at bay, keep them from pouring more flames upon their partners. "What are these things?!" Dolph demands, looking up.

"Toy Agumon," Patamon says, blowing forceful bubbles at their opponents and leaving them dazed and more than a little annoyed. "But they've been defiled somehow... these are black ones."

"Bada boom!" Impmon cries out, throwing flames at the digimon and watching as a couple of them start to melt before deleting, their data filling the air. "Well, that works." Between the two of them, they manage to take care of some of them, but more keep coming. "What the hell, man?" he grouses.

"Digivolve," Dolph finally decides, holding his digivice out. Zack does the same and before long Darcmon and Wizardmon are facing off with the sea of rookie digimon, light flowing from their hands and staffs. As Wizardmon confuses clusters of the wild creatures with blasts from his staff, Darcmon comes up behind him and finishes the job with wide swipes of his sword. It takes a long time to clear the area of all of the digimon but finally they accomplish it, careful to make sure their partners aren't getting hit by much of the flames that go this way and that by the creatures trying to live longer to cause more damage.

Once they're all gone, the villagers slowly reappear, resume their lives after thanking the digidestined profusely. Zack and Dolph smirk as Dean and Alberto rejoin them, surprised by the reappearance of the digimon. "What happened?" Alberto wonders, accent thickening as he looks around at the bustling village.

"We handled it," Dolph smirks. "Come on, broski, let's go home."

"Sounds good," Zack agrees, tired and ready to go home for a little bit. Until the next situation, anyway.


	95. chapter 95

WaruSeadramon and Vajaramon had already been manhandled, sent back to their rookie forms. Alberto and Dean both look horrified, holding onto Gabumon and Otamamon as Zack and Dolph step between them and the disgustingly tall Digimon who had bisected both WaruSeadramon and Vajaramon with his impossibly sharp tail, punching them both so quickly that no one could see it. "We're going to need to work together, bro," Zack says, staring up at the tall, armored creature. "Otherwise, I don't know..."

"Yeah," Dolph says, staring up at his partner. "Beelzebumon-"

"Got it, Dolph. Come on, Seraphimon," he says, racing towards Arresterdramon Superior Mode.

"Hold on!" But it's too late, by the time Seraphimon has flown forward, Beelzebumon is already caught by Arresterdramon's tail, the sword on the end uncomfortably close to his throat. "BEELZEBUMON!" Seraphimon flies forward and aims his hands at the massive digimon. "NOW!" Lightning blasts from the sky and slams down upon Arresterdramon, his entire body twitching and spasming until he collapses to his knee and releases Beelzebumon. "I told you to wait!"

"Well, excuse me," Beelzebumon grunts.

"Bros!" Zack yells at them. "Keep it together!"

"Yeah, what he said!" Dolph says. "We need to defeat him before he destroys another village!" The smoldering wreckage of homes and the gate that once kept the inhabitants safe is behind them, making it even harder for them to breathe and see, their eyes watering more and more with each passing minute.

Beelzebumon sighs and brushes off his body before looking over at Seraphimon. "Ready?"

"Yep." They fly forward together this time, dodging Arresterdramon's various weapons. Seraphimon looks for a weak spot and finds it, digging his sword through the armor plates, which allows Beelzebumon to follow up and slam the mouth of his gun into Arresterdramon's body, shooting repeatedly as Seraphimon slashes more and more with his knife, trying to weaken, trying to find a vulnerable spot. _Finally_ it works and Arresterdramon roars out in pain, trying again and again to reach them with his tail, his claws, something... anything. But he fails and, before any of them can really digest what all's been happeining, he shatters into hundreds of pieces, Seraphimon's sword making the process go by faster than usual.

Patamon and Impmon land smoothly upon dedigivolving, and joins the other. There's nothing they can do for the ruined village, and Gabumon and Otamamon look so weak and scared that it's heartbreaking for all of them. "Let's get out of here," Zack says wearily, resting a hand on Patamon's warm side. "C'mon, bros."

Dean nor Alberto seem that thrilled as they hug their partners, so Zack and Dolph stay quiet as well, peering at each other and hoping that things will get easier soon. _We reach the highest level in digivolution and we still run the risk of getting outmatched most times... why? What are we missing?_ Uncertain, Zack vows to figure it out as he holds the digivolution portal open for all of them. "I don't know how, but we will all make it out of this fine. I just need time to think..."


	96. chapter 96

Dean coughs, struggling to sit up. His lungs are burning, everything hurts, and he can barely see an inch ahead of him. Darkness overwhelms everything and he can't make sense of anything. Gritting his teeth, he forces himself up the rest of the way and looks around. Zack, Dolph and Alberto, and their four partners, are scattered around in front of him, unmoving. "What the hell is this-"

There's a sharp laughter and a horrifyingly long claw reaches out, grazes his jaw, forces him to look up. "You're not wrong," a horned creature tells him. "This _is_ hell..."

Dean twists his lips, watching him uncomfortably. "Otamamon!" he yells out, not that surprised when his partner doesn't budge. "Dammit, what've you done to them?" He struggles to his feet and grabs Otamamon, shaking him. "Wake up!" There's still no response and Ambrose swallows, trying to see something _anything_ through the gloom. "Oh come on," he grunts.

The vicious Digimon leans over him, teeth and claws working together to frighten Dean for the first time in a long time. "Welcome to the Dark Ocean. The place of your demise." He laughs wildly as Dean glares up at him.

-x

"They are missing! What are we going to do?" Miz exclaims, shaking his Digivice in Luke's face. "The sensors- they're not showing up on the map anymore. They just... they were here one minute, and gone the next. What the hell is going on? It's bad enough we've lost Alicia, now Zack, Ziggler, Del Rio and Ambrose are gone too? What are we supposed to do?"

Luke swallows, staring down at the map that is only flashing three dots for the three people before him. "This was not part of the plan..."

Mike frowns at him. "What plan?! What is going on?"

Luke looks up at him finally. "This is your responsibility, Mike Mizanin. You are the only one who can save your friends. It is time I tell you everything. Come with me, please."

As Wade and Heath sputter in disbelief, Luke leads Mike away to talk in private.

-x

Back on earth, in a thin, twin-sized bed, Ricardo Rodriguez sits up, gasping and gripping his sheets tight in his hands. Out of the window, he can see the moon, can hear the soft sounds of nature that's become common since he'd arrived in India all of those months. But he can find no comfort in it, his skin crawling and tears welling in his eyes. "El Patron," he gasps out, covering his mouth with his hands. His Digivice is under his pillow and he pulls it out, staring at the screen. He'd let Veemon out, here and there, when alone, but for the most part, his partner's been very quiet since Ricardo had begun training the Indian students. "What can I do? What can we do?"

Afraid that there's nothing he can do from here, Ricardo hugs his knees against his chest and tries not to think too heavily about how Alberto needs him, about how it feels as though Alberto's just... disappeared abruptly.

-x

Likewise, Seth Rollins finds himself frozen mid-rehab, frowning down at his knee as he stretches it out. Something feels... off. He instinctively grabs for his Digivice, which is off to the side with his wallet, staring at it. "Ambrose, what the hell did you get yourself into now?" he mutters, getting to his feet with little struggle. He's progressed in leaps and bounds since the surgery mid-November, and he can taste the need for competition on his tongue, hoping that he'll be back in the ring sooner rather than later... but for now... his former Shield brethern, something tells him, is in some deep shit.

There aren't many earth-bound Digidestined, but himself, Punk... AJ Lee... and Ricardo, not that the former ring announcer would be much help over in India... "Would three of us be enough?" Seth wonders aloud, tapping the screen of his digivice. "Couldn't hurt, huh?" He digs around for his phone and dials a rarely used number. "Hey, Punk. I need a favor..."


	97. chapter 97

Wade watches as Mike staggers at something Luke is telling him, strangely pale as he looks up at the man. "Well, this doesn't look good," he mumbles, glancing over at Heath, who shakes his head slowly. Finally Mike and Luke rejoin them and Wade stands up straighter. "So. What's going on?"

Mike swallows, glances around. "Well, uh. Do you remember Shakamon?" Wade looks clueless but Heath nods faintly. "Since my crest is the crest of light, apparently... I can use it to shatter through darkness and... a lot of what's been going on since we've become Digidestined was a test. To prove that I can control that power... but now the others are being held in a ... a different dimension, and..." He closes his eyes, shakes his head. "I can't believe what my life's become. Remember when I was just an awesome, kick-ass wrestler and movie star?"

"No," Wade deadpans. "Get on with it. What's going on?"

"The only way to find the others is to use my control over light," he says, lifting his digivice up and staring at it. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Well, you apparently have to, so..." Wade stares at him beadily. "To save the others, and you're the only one who can do it. What a boost to your ego, yes?"

Mike wavers, running a finger over the screen. "Well, yes, but..."

Monodramon steps up to him. "I believe in you, Mike," he says simply, his rough claw reaching out for Mike's hand.

This helps, somehow. Miz closes his eyes and squeezes his partner's hand back before turning to face the others. "Fine. Let's do this then." He lifts his hand, aiming the digivice away from Luke's compound and focuses with everything within himself on the power of light that he can feel thrumming within the device, breathing in and out until finally something clicks and a powerful beam shoots from the screen, lighting up the surrounding area.

Wade and Heath back off, eyes widening as it seems like the air ripples, then tears apart at the seams, revealing another world hidden within. It's dark and gloomy, a sharp contrast to the world they're currently residing in, and Mike gasps for air as he struggles to hold onto this. "What the bloody hell _is_ that?" Wade demands, eyes widening as he watches this happen, the gaping wound in the skyline growing.

"The Dark Ocean," Lopmon whimpers, beyond scared.

"What's that?" Heath asks, hugging his partner closer.

"It's a dimension where darkness breeds," Luke says simply, the only one in the group to not seem shocked or overly troubled by the presence of this underlying world. "You should go, now, and find your friends. Humans nor ordinary digimon can tolerate it for too long."

Mike grits his teeth, still clinging to his thrumming device, before looking over his shoulder. "It'll hold if I let go?"

"Yes," Luke says. "Go. Now!"

Wade and Heath, already halfway across to the grim looking tear in the sky, moves quicker and just beats Mike inside, the power of light fading away and closing the portal with it. The landing is harder than expected and Wade immediately feels the change- outside, in the sun and the warm weather, he'd felt fine. But now... now, there's a weird chill creeping into his bones and he feels an odd kind of ache starting in his skull and mediating downwards.

Heath and Mike look about as bad as he feels, his former Nexus teammate groaning as he struggles to sit up, even his hair looking dull and washed out in this environment. Mike, still clinging to his digivice, only seems moderately stronger as he makes it to his feet and looks around, a grimace on his face.

"What're we supposed to do now?" Heath asks, scrubbing a hand through his hair as he brushes sand and grime from his scalp. "How do we find the others?"

Mike reaches out and pulls him to his feet before turning away. "I guess we walk and look."

"Oh great," Wade grouses, getting to his feet anyway and following them. Moonmon hangs from his shoulder, looking distinctly lesser in this world. He worries for her, for all of them, but the others have been here much longer, and he can only imagine how it must be affecting them. Squaring his shoulders, he reavows to find them all- even Alicia- and treks after Mike and Heath with fresh determination.


	98. chapter 98

Alicia's been lost in the darkness for weeks by now. She can't see, she can't hear. She's lost in a sea of darkness, not sure where she's at, or what she's doing. She's not sure what happened to Palmon, or anyone else. For all she knows, this is hell. She feels numb, unconnected to her own body, and it bothers her so much. She's not sure if she's awake or dreaming most times.

"Help me," she whispers into the void, her voice echoing back to her. There's no response, her fear and horror ratcheting up as she tries to breathe. "Please..."

-x

Alicia's body moves smoothly. Wrestles matches, pretends to be friends with Brie, does everything that the actual Alicia would've done if she was in control of herself. "This is bizarre," the digimon muses. "Being a human... a female human, no less," Shakamon muses.

"Also bizarre is that it's taking Mike this long to do anything about it," Palmon says, lazily slapping the wall with her thorny vines, cutting into the wood and paint like they're nothing.

"Oh, that will be happening soon," the creature declares. "Very soon, I'm sure. Until then, I will carry on as Alicia Fox. It is oddly... entertaining..." His train of thought, however, is interrupted when he feels a shudder down his spine, the strange suspicion feeling even worse in this form. "What is going on?" he mumbles to himself, ignoring the odd look Palmon throws at him. "Something is wrong... I can't..." He closes Alicia's eyes and tries to focus, breathing in and out deeply until he can view the Digital World.

Everything seems fine there, but that's not the problem, he can tell. "What is it..." Focusing deeper, he finds himself in a frighteningly familiar place, watching a few of the Digidestined wandering around. Coming back to Alicia's form with a jolt, he grimaces. "This is bad... I must do something..." Turning to Palmon, he takes a breath. "We're going back, prepare yourself for a fight."

Palmon sighs, only giving in because she's eager for a fight. "Very well."

Alicia's brown eyes flicker over to the nearby computer monitor. "Well, Mike, if you can't come to me, I suppose I have to come to you. Thus, I will."


	99. chapter 99

The Dark Ocean is awful. It is dark, it is scary, it is so large against Heath's suddenly insigficant frame. If Mike's crest is the power of light, Heath's not sure how he's supposed to fight against this world. What he's supposed to do, where he's supposed to turn. But he does know that the man will need support so he keeps his shoulders squared, his head up, and tries not to look as blatantly scared as he's felt since arriving in this dimension.

Wade's arm brushes against his now and again as they walk further on, looking for their fellow Digidestined, the only comfort and warmth he finds in this entire, messed up place that they find themselves in. He peeks down to check on Lopmon, who looks scared but resolute, and he smiles vaguely as they trudge on. Dean and Alberto are quiet, focused on their surroundings, and Heath tries to follow suit, but there are whispers, a creeping kind of awareness on the hinges of his consciousness. Like something just out of sight is trying to gain his attention, and the only thing that keeps him from giving in, paying attention to it, is the rasp of Wade's flesh against his own. The weight of his blue eyes on Heath's pale face whenever his step falters. "I'm good," he says in little more than a whisper, speeding up to catch up with the others.

They all doubt it matters how quietly they speak, how carefully they sneak along... their presence must've been noticed by now. Which begs the question why they'd not been confronted yet... but they decide to take the good as it comes, moving through the grimy, dark world one step at a time. Until they hear a weird sound and turn as one towards the body of water just visible from where they're standing. As if waiting for their acknowledgement, a long tentacle swipes out and wipes around Heath, lifting him up. As laughter echoes around the grey beach, Wade grits and hits the slimy flesh with his fist. "Let go of him!" he orders briskly, looking like he might try climbing the creature's appendage if Heath isn't freed soon.

Heath's voice, however, puts a stop to that quickly. "S'ok, Brit, ya just got cleared from your neck problems," he rasps out. "Stay where ya at, I'm gonna be ok." How he's not sure, but he's not going to let Wade sacrifice his tenuous grasp on his health just for this. When Lopmon's attack cracks against the tentacle and loosens its grip, Heath catches his breath just enough to kick out and hit something vital because before he knows it, he's falling- hard, and fast, and- He lands with a hard crash, immediately slipping into darkness. The last thing he hears is a tense, horrified yell of, "SLATER!"

It's dark, he's wet and cold when he comes to, dark blue eyes pooring into his own dark brown. "Idiot, bloody fool!" Wade lectures him. "The hell were you thinking?"

Heath stares up at him, his ears ringing through a pounding headache that makes it hard to register Wade's words. "Wasn't?" he offered, because it usually eases Wade's temper when Heath admits he's not the brightest creature in the world, or in the town, or in a mile radius, or...

His thoughts stutter to a stop when he realizes that Wade is actually hugging him, mumbling venomously but shaking, like something's scared him, like... like he thought someone died. Heath sucks in a breath and forces his arms up, despite everything feeling like jelly, and wraps them around Wade slowly, clinging to him. "I'm ok," he mumbles into his former leader's shoulder, smiling painfully when Wade squeezes him tighter for a moment before pulling away.

"Of course you are," he sighs, brushing his hands down Heath's clothes, trying to smooth them out. "Of course you are. Blood fool. If something happened..."

"It didn't," Heath insists and their eyes lock once more before Wade nods somberly. "Gonna help me up?" It's slow, Wade gripping him by the arms and pulling him up, he's dizzy and the entire thing is a torturous process, but soon he's on his feet, if wavering like a newborn deer just a bit, clinging to Wade's forearms more than either of them will ever address again. "Alright," he releases a breath, forcing his vision to stop doubling with a few hard blinks. "Let's go kick some evil digimon's ass!"

Wade nods and, side by side, they leave to do just that.


	100. chapter 100

The darkness. It's enough to eat at any man. He grits his teeth against the strange sensation, feeling it creep along his skin. Leaving him nauseous and shaky. Struggling to sit up, he finds that his body isn't under his own control any longer. Something lifts his head, then his arms. His midsection follows shortly afterwards and he struggles to say something, order the others to run, do _something._ But again, no control over anything. He can't even warn Gabumon, who seems as unaware of the others.

He's back on his feet before Gabumon notices but it's too late- he has Zack by the throat, lifting him up and cutting off his breathing, eyes flashing as he stares at Dolph and Dean, the two men turning to gape at him. "What are you doing?!" Dolph demands, approaching, but Alberto starts to tighten his grip on Zack's throat, his best friend's face already a worrisome shade of purple so Dolph stops short.

"Let him go," Dean says grimly, staring Alberto down despite it not seeming to bother the other man in the slightest. "Now."

"That's not how this is going to go," Alberto says, his accent smothered by a strange tone of voice that sends shivers down the humans before him, Zack cringing and closing his eyes as Alberto's hands trail higher, tilting his head back in a very painful way. Dolph's teeth gnash together as he realizes that Alberto's fingers are digging into the small scar on Zack's arm where he'd had a procedure the year prior to heal a torn rotator cuff.

"No, it's not," Alicia's voice says, cool, calm, void of everything that made the diva _her._ It's clearly not her, it's clearly not Palmon as they join the group, Dolph glaring at her as she sidles up to Alberto and laughs softly. "You boys are going to play nicely while we wait for the others, now aren't you?"

"Why do you... why do you want them?" Zack struggles out through an inch of oxygen that he's able to get into his system...before Alicia's gaze flickers to Alberto and he tightens his grip on Zack, his face turning blue under the possessed man's fingers.

"No! Kid!" Dolph yells out, desperate to step forward, to do _something..._ but unable to risk more harm coming to Zack. Zack's green eyes lock on him for a moment before he goes limp, his face falling forward so that Dolph can't tell if he's still breathing. "Please..." he whispers. "PLEASE!"

Alicia and Alberto's chilling laughs echo through the darkness, underlined by the crashing of waves in the distance.


	101. chapter 101

There is a certain kind of darkness here. It suffuses everything and Mike finds it hard to pinpoint any particular place that it's coming from. He feels strangely sensitive to it all, intune to fluctuations of power, and it's obvious to him when something changes- shifts. "Follow me," he snaps at the others, walking quickly into the gloom. The further he walks, the more obvious all of the bad before them becomes and he holds his breath, not liking this at all. Even with four digimon at his back, and their partners, he feels extremely exposed and painfully alone.

It's not until he approaches the strange sensation that he realizes. The force is coming from Alberto Del Rio and Alicia Fox, Zack Ryder unconscious on the ground with a frantic Dolph Ziggler kneeling as close to him as he dares to get with the two evil beings glaring down at him. Alicia, he had known, would need dealt with... but now Alberto too...? He swallows hard and closes his eyes, peering over at his partner. "What do we do?" he mumbles, trying to get his thoughts together.

Shakamon had said it was to fall on him. He had to figure this out, he had to save the others. But how...

Alicia's laugh, hollow and dark, echoes around them and Mike stares at her as she points a finger at Monodramon, lifting him off of the ground and holding him in place. "You're done, Mike. It's over. You can't save anyone, you can't save yourself. You've failed this mission, you've failed your world and this one. It's time to say goodbye." Her fingers pluck together, nails just shy of clicking together when Mike lunges forward and tackles her, sensing that she's about to do something awful if he doesn't stop her.

"Digivolve, Monodramon!" he orders, holding his digivice and crest up. The pure light from his crest cuts through the darkness, blinds them all. He's still laying there when his partner's evolution ends, but things are different now. It's not Strikedramon or Cyberdramon behind him, it's not Pucchimon... No, this is a taller, humanoid type digimon with body armor and a sleak silver helmet covering his face.

"Justimon!" he cries out.

"Finally," Alicia breathes underneath Mike and, just like that, again the dynamics change. Something familiar escapes her and, the more Mike's vision clears, the easier he realizes what it is.

"Shakamon," he hisses out, swatting at the golden ball floating in front of him.

It hits the ground and forms into the hovering form of the digimon, who stares at him. "Yes. Congratulations, you have made it this far. Now... will you succeed or prove as worthless as the others before you?"

Mike stares at him. Looks around the desolate world. "What do you expect me to do?"

Shakamon mulls over this for a moment. "Many years ago, Hikari Yagami was the first Light Digidestined to arrive in this dimension. She and her fellow Digidestined succeeded here- to a point. But this place grows more and more volatile as the real world becomes more unstable. An unimaginable amount of evil will be unleashed upon both worlds if this continues. But I needed to know you could handle it, Mike Mizanin. Thus the tests I have put you and your fellow Digidestined through."

Mike frowns and looks down to find Alicia awake, Alberto back to himself, though blinking in confusion... and Zack slowly getting to his feet with help from Dolph, groggy but healed. "This was all a test?" He wants to be angry. He wants to yell and scream at Shakamon for everything, but he knows what Shakamon is talking about. He can _feel_ the energy surrounding him, pulsing and threatening to bleed out of this dimension into the others. Shaking his head, he squares his shoulders. "What do we need to do then? Or is that a test too?"

Shakamon smirks at him before fading out of existence as quickly as he'd come.

"Of _course_ ," Mike releases a pained breath, turning to look at the others. Deciding to go by his instincts, he holds his digivice out, which is still thrumming with leftover power from Justimon's digivolution. The others follow suit, a circle of digivices held out as they wait for something, anything, to happen.

"Maybe we need to do something to activate our crests," Zack mumbles, shaking his like that would actually _do_ something.

"How though?" Dolph mumbles, glancing at them. "I found my crest when I... when I was thinking about friendship." Zack peeks at him, remembering when he was in danger, how Dolph's crest had appeared in time for Wizardmon to digivolve to Wisemon and help save him. "So it's based on the attributes of the crest, how are we supposed to activate them here?"

Mike stares down at his crest, peers over his shoulder at Justimon. "Remember the moment your partners digivolved to ultimate," he says softly. "How it felt, how _you_ felt." They're all staring at their digivices, about to do as suggested, when there's a strange flash of light.

Their number grows by four when Ricardo Rodriguez, CM Punk, AJ Lee and Seth Rollins appears behind them, their partners by their side. _Everyone_ freezes in shock, staring at them. "We sensed you needed our help," Seth smirks as Dean gapes at him. "So here we are."

"I thought you were still in Australia, mi hermano!" Alberto chokes out, approaching Ricardo, who looks lost and confused in this grim dimension.

"No, El Patron," he says softly. "I just got back home in time to learn that we were needed." He stares at Seth, tilting his head in thanks before looking back at Alberto. "Where are we?"

"It is a long story, I'll explain as soon as we're out of here." He reaches out and cups Ricardo's fingers tightly around his digivice. "You haven't found your crest, as you weren't an active digidestined long enough, but I suppose you'll be help anyway." He winks at him. "We have to re-enforce this dimension, it is being overwhelmed by darkness and may start to affect the other worlds even more. I am guessing that everything that has been going on in the Digiworld is an echo effect of this world growing more unstable."

The twelve of them form a circle once more, Ricardo next to Alberto, Seth to the left of Dean, and AJ and Punk between Miz and Zack. It's awkward, it's quiet, all of them lost in thought, trying to make something, anything happen. Finally Mike's digivice lights back up, the others slowly following suit... and before long, the golden gleam spreads, strengthens and coats the horizon. It's a ridiculous amount of pressure, holding onto their digivices as the power flows through them, but they somehow succeed.

There's a squeech behind Mike and he grits his teeth, struggling not to break the connection, as Justimon lunges forward and slices through a horde of evil digimon converging on the powerful light. More and more evil creatures are attempting to attack, held back by the various digimon and the powerful light filling the area. Mike grips his digivice as long as he can, his hands growing numb, his knees wobbling. His energy is fading quickly and he breathes heavily, sweat dripping down his jaw until finally he can't take it any longer, the device slipping from trembling fingers.

Dropping to his knees, he gasps for air and looks up at the deeply golden skyline before falling forward, everything going dark for him.

"...going to be fine. He should wake up shortly, actually. It was just too much energy for him, because he was the conduit of all of the power from your digivices. His having the crest of light meant he had to be the one to blanket the Dark Ocean dimension with light energy, to barricade in the evil. Shakamon is confident what you all accomplished will help keep the worlds safer for the foreseeable future."

It's Luke's voice that cuts into Mike's sleep, a faint groan coming from his lips as he twists his head around, trying to avoid the sounds. A soft hand slips into his own and he opens his eyes to find Alicia staring down at him sadly. "I'm so sorry," she breathes out. "I didn't... I didn't mean to do anything."

"I know. It wasn't you," he tells her sleepily. "None of us blame you." She hugs him and he lightly kisses her temple before dropping back against the pillows. "So it's over?"

"Yes. Thanks to you, the evil is held back. Things should calm down in the digiworld now." She runs a finger along Mike's brow and smiles grimly at him. "We'll probably be needed now and again, but not with as much frequency. So that's good, right?"

He nods. "Yeah, that's good." He closes his eyes and sinks back into some much needed rest, releasing a breath. _I'll actually kinda miss it..._ He smirks.


	102. chapter 102

After the Darkness Zone is reinforced thanks to the Digidestined, peace does settle over the Digiworld like an ill-fitting blanket. Everyone, everything seems aware that it's temporary, as if holding their breath in anticipation of the next bad thing to happen. Luke isn't exempt from this, his eyes closed as he feels the air, monitors the noise around him. Everything seems peaceful, but he can't trust it. Not yet.

-x

Dean wanders the arena, rotating his shoulders to loosen them up. Things've been quiet from the digiworld for the last few days, and he _almost_ misses it. Although that last mission was a little much for him, he'd kind of enjoyed the battles, helping his partner reach new levels of power. But now, he supposes, things will return to normal and, considering Wrestlemania is only a couple of weeks away, it's just as well. He buries his hands in his jeans pockets and pauses as his fingers brush against the cool material that comprises his digivice.

Not the first time he'd forgotten it was in his pants pockets, he'd even had it in there during matches sometimes, which had made him a little uncomfortable when he'd realized later on. He sighs and looks around, finding Zack and Ziggler nearby. "Hey, guys, I gotta match, you mind watchin' this for a bit?" He thrusts his digivice into Zack's hands before turning and jogging out to the ring.

Zack's eyebrows lift up as he looks over at Dolph. "... great. Guess we're gonna have to wait to go to Cracker Barrel, bro." Dolph rolls his eyes and reaches for his phone, Zack rubbing a thumb over the screen of Ambrose's digivice. "Ugh, doesn't he ever clean this thing? It's nasty..."

They're still standing there, listing to the crowd outside, when all three digivices light up at once, rattling around in Zack's hand or in Dolph's pocket. "What the hell?" Dolph mumbles, looking up as Alberto joins them with a displeased look on his face. "You too?"

"Si, I thought we were supposed to be left alone now," he grits out. "It has barely been a week."

"Luke did say that we would still be needed," Zack says. "Just not as often. Come on, bros. We need to wait for Dean, but his match should be over soon."

"Well, that perro better win or we will be at a distinct disadvantage if we have to defend him," Alberto sniffs.

Zack and Dolph exchange glances, releasing a breath when the bell rings to cheers, Dean stumbling through the curtain a few minutes later. Zack immediately hands him his digivice. "We gotta go, bro. There's something going on."

Dean grimaces, runs his fingers through his hair. "Fine. Let's go." He's still sweaty from the match, but he doesn't bother to shower or change, finding the nearest laptop and setting up the digiport.

They appear quickly in the digiworld and Luke greets them. "Thank you for coming. The digiport is ready for you, please hurry."

The four of them nod briskly and walk over to where Ophanimon is guarding it, all half-nodding at her before holding their digivices up, activating the portal. They arrive in the virus zone, Alberto grunting and stumbling forward before Gabumon supports him. "Alright?"

"Si," he mumbles. He steps forward and glances around. "Fine. We're here. What are we looking for?" He stares down at his digivice and sighs, walking straight ahead towards the village indicated on the screen.

Dolph and Zack exchange a glance before following him, Ambrose following along at his leisure. All ease fades away, however, when they see what's going on- a massive, evil looking creature flying around overhead, flames licking at gates and house walls before he swoops down and stabs his claw through a small digimon trying to escape. Data explodes everywhere as something glowing is pulled from his midsection, a scream of pain fading into nothing as the Digidestined look on in horror. "What is that?" Zack mumbles.

"Death-X-Dorugamon," Patamon says, slumping against Zack's head as he watches on worriedly. "He's a warped digimon that was experimented on while evolving... very evil. That thing you saw a minute ago? The bright glowing thing? It's a digimon's digicore... it's what keeps us alive, helps us to reform if we've been deleted... Zack, that digimon is dead forever now..."

Zack stares up at him, resting his hand on Patamon's shaking body. "It's ok, we'll take care of him," he says confidentally. They lose whatever cover they had with the digivolution sequence starting, Death-X-Dorugamon swooping away from the village and heading their way.

Darcmon, Wizardmon, WaruSeadramon and Vajiramon meets him halfway, however, their attacks combining and cracking against his armored body, only sending him off course for a moment. He roars angrily before throwing his arm forward and throwing iron balls at them, causing the humans to scatter and the digimon to retreat a few steps, WaruSeadramon throwing lightning at the balls, electrifying them... before Wizardmon uses his power to send it back towards Death-X-Dorugamon.

Snarling, he rocks backwards as one hits him right in the chest, his wings fluttering hard as he rushes forward, claws outstretched in an attempt to grab at WaruSeadramon, clearly eager to tear his digicore out. "Oh nah you don't," Dean yells, running forward and holding his digivice out, trying to shield his partner... somehow. "Do _somethin',_ you damn device!"

It doesn't activate like Mike's had in the darkness zone and Dean grits his teeth, refusing to move and subject his partner to this horrible death... but he also doesn't want to stay standing here with this massive beast bearing down on them. Even so, he plants his feet and waits to see what happens, ignoring WaruSeadramon's yells and attempts to stop the evil creature. Dean can just feel Death-X-Dorugamon's breath on his face, rancid and horrible, when his digivice starts to shake, an impressive amount of power exploding from it. It doesn't hit the warped digimon, though. Instead it flies backwards and washes WaruSeadramon in power, sending him back to Otamamon before a new evolution cycle begins.

"Otamamon warp digivolve to...!" HIs mega form is impressive, large and magestic, soft dark eyes peering down at Dean as he flops onto the ground and waves his fins around. "Plesiomon," he says in a notably deeper voice. Death-X-Dorugamon is still approaching so the massive water beast turns towards him, opens his mouth and a mournful cry escapes his lips, causing the creature to stop short just inches from Dean.

All of the digidestined can do is stand there and watch, jaw dropping as Death-X-Dorugamon drops to the ground, all fight leaving him at Plesiomon's sound based attack. This leaves him vulnerable to Wizardmon, Vajiramon and Darcmon's combined attacks, slicing through his armor and into the vulnerable flesh below before deleting him. "Too good for him," Dean says, wondering how many digicores were taken from innocent digimon before they'd arrived.

As he watches, more of the awkward dinosaur type digimon come from the wreckage of their village, chittering and making weird clicking noises. "Your village is safe now," he calls out to them. "IF you need help rebuilding, just let us know."

"What is he doing?" Alberto hisses, wanting nothing more than to go home, leave the creatures to taking care of their own issues.

The digimon stare at them a moment before turning their back on them and slowly starting to push at a wall nearby, reforming it.

"I guess that was a no," Dean sighs, almost relieved for it. When he turns to walk back to the portal, the others follow him quietly.


	103. chapter 103

The calls to the Digiworld are rare now. Which, Alicia thinks, is a really good thing because most of them aren't recovered from the entire drama regarding the Darkness Zone anyway. Especially her. It still haunts her dreams, the smothering sense of darkness surrounding her, no hope and pain pressing down against her. She wakes up screaming so many times that it makes her feel awful, Brie Bella having enough to deal with right now. But she's a good friend, she sits with Alicia and strokes her hair, whispering to her in a way that always makes Alicia think that whatever children Brie and Daniel may have in the future will be very lucky indeed.

Alicia dreads her first trip back to the Digiworld, only relaxing a bit when she realizes that they're called out to the data section, so they just need to travel a bit east of Luke's area until they find the spot on the digivice maps. Their digimon evolved to fly or run faster, they find themselves at the indicated trouble very quickly, frowning at the fog distorting the air in front of them. "What is that?" she asks, stepping towards it... as if being called to it, something encouraging her to reach out... touch it.

"Alicia, stop!" Miz snaps at her and it does help, her fingers freeze a few inches from the rippling energy. She turns to look at him and that's when it all goes wrong. His face twists in horror and he tries to run forward, stop her, but it's too late- the fog expands, engulfs her. She doesn't even have time to yelp before she disappears from sight.

-x

_Alicia Fox._ The world she finds herself in is dark. Quiet. But not like the Darkness Zone, this darkness feels... calm. Peaceful. Almost... beautiful. She whimpers and rolls over, finding herself not in an awful, dark zone, but a bright, lovely sparkling ball of a world. She tenses up when she hears footsteps and realizes she's separated once more from Palmon. Her tension escapes her, however, when she spots the creature lost in this world with her. He's tall, almost resembles Alberto's partner. For some reason his name comes to her although she'd never met him before in her entire life. "AncientGarurumon," she whispers.

His chuckle is warm. Gentle. "You remember," he says simply. He kneels in front of her and, although a small part of her wants to lean forward and allow him to touch her, she doesn't want to become something different. Something she's not, and never has been, and would prefer to never be again. But he seems so gentle, so loving, so she allows him to touch her, graze along some of the minor scars she's gotten as a wrestler over the years. "Miz has Shakamon," the wolf type digimon with human features tells her. "You have me." His fingers run through her hair and he smiles. "No worries, I'm not as rough with any tests I may put you through."

He rests his hand on her chest, closing his eyes. "You have done quite well with ridding yourself of the dark energy that filled you just a couple of short weeks ago. There's really very little I will need to do..." But he focuses anyway, ridding her body of the last vestiges of the energy, the strands of darkness wisping away, then disappearing into thin air. "When you were first kidnapped," he explains, some of the threads of energy harder to break apart than others, "dark energy was introduced into your system. Your body couldn't fight it. And thus I had to bring you to me, here." He smiles down at her. "As soon as I'm done, you'll be back to normal. I promise."

She stares at him, not understanding, until the light fades away and she feels... perfect. Better than she has in a long time! "This is not the last we will see of each other," AncientGarurumon promises her. "I just needed to handle it before it escalated any further. Now I will return you to your team." He leans forward and kisses her on the forehead. "Take good care of yourself and your fellow digidestined, Alicia. I will see you again soon."

All she can do is stand there and take his random soft touch against her forehead before he's gone and she's back with the others, trying to debate if she wants to tell them what happened. Ultimately, however, she realizes that she can't, not yet. So she stays quiet and finds some cheap excuse about a digimon lost in the fog who was causing problems in the mess but she was able to talk him down, promising that everything's fine.

When everyone believes her, she feels guilty and exhausted in this world. But she goes through the motions anyway, convinces them all of her story by adding a few random details. "I think everything's handled here then, Miz says. "Let's go home."

"Yes!" the four of them agree, Alicia gladly leading the way back to the digiport.


	104. chapter 104

After Wrestlemania, everyone's just a little bit sore. A little bit emotional, be it happiness or annoyance. Zack Ryder, for one, is on top of the world, his new IC title warm on his shoulder. Ziggler is clearly happy for his friend but not thrilled for himself, Dean is beat up and angry, and Alberto would be happier if the three legends hadn't come out and ruined everything for the League of Nations. Despite it all, they still find themselves trudging through the Digiworld, Alberto watching the blip on his digivice as they approach it.

Zack rubs at his back as they approach, Dolph glancing over at him momentarily. It's not a long walk thankfully, because he's not sure any of them could make it much further. They're waiting around, watching for a sign, when the gate is suddenly shot out entirely, flying up and over them. The four men twitch and turn to gape as it crashes into the ground and lays there, smouldering at an angle. "Damn!" Dolph spits out, eyes impossibly wide in his pale face.

Alberto turns to face the beast, a green creature with white tipped ears and a large gun on his right arm, aimed right at them. He swallows, dark eyes flickering over to Gabumon. They exchange a faint nod before the digimon lunges forward and begins to digivolve, Garurumon leaping onto the digimon and preparing an ice beam. Gargomon hits him hard in the face and sends him backwards, Garurumon hitting the ground hard and freezing, trying to shake off the pain.

Patamon, Otamamon and Impmon try to run forward and attack, but Galgomon quickly attacks, a shell exploding against them. They crash down hard, unable to even get the energy together to digivolve, and Garurumon lunges up and over, trying again to blast Galgomon down, met halfway with another attack from his gun barrel. He crashes hard and flops over, growling and groaning into the dirt. Alberto runs over and kneels down next to him, resting his hand on his flank, feeling his body shifting with each pained breath. The other three are close to their partners as well, Galgomon's gun still aimed at the three most vulnerable.

Alberto slaps Garurumon on the side and holds his digivice out. "Go for it," he orders briskly. Garurumon nods, gleaming brightly before he grows thicker and taller. vajramon is imposing, more so than Garurumon, and Alberto steps aside as the two monsters attack, sword to gun. Galgomon fights vajramon off briefly but then this gives vajramon the space to lift his sword up, striking the ground with it and his front feet, sending shockwaves through the ground and slamming into Galgomon and sending him flying backwards. A quick sword swipe later and Galgomon screams out in pain before deleting, vajramon sighing softly.

It's brutal and kind of ugly, but it needed to be done, especially since at this height, Vajramon can see how badly the village he'd been holed up in is decimated. He's not sure if there are any survivors but, when he returns to Gabumon, the other digidestined are already heading to the village to check on the others. Alberto smiles thinly and waits for him to catch up as they venture inside the missing gate's posts.


	105. chapter 105

It had happened so suddenly, Alberto couldn't remember when exactly he'd gone from walking with the group to here, slumped against a cool, wet cavern wall. He's not alone, the others lined up on either side of him. Remembers a deep pain stabbing down his back, his injuries from wrestling screaming out anew. His only relief is that that perro Wade Barrett isn't around, glaring and hissing insults about his abrupt exile from the League of Nations after Wrestlemania, but that means instead he's stuck with _these_ three- Ambrose, Ziggler and Ryder-, all struggling to make sense of what happened. Trying to focus on the cluster of water digimon scattered around at their feet.

Coelamon, Alberto thinks he remembers seeing them before over the years that they've been doing this- _God, it's already been two years?_ \- and he tries to squirm, tries to free himself... but something unseen is pinning his wrists to the rocks and if he struggles any further, he's sure to slice his wrists up. Gritting his teeth, he looks over for Gabumon and thinks he sees his fur in the half-light, off to the side, limp and lifeless. Scraping his shoes against the dirt and the grime, he tries to find some purchase, anyway to attack the water creatures, but fails. Their laughter grates at him and he wants to kick, to scream, but knows it'll probably only make things worse.

He drops his head back against the rocks and tries to ignore the sharp bite of pain as pebbles crumble down around him. He hates this, the multiple injuries and indignities of being held hostage, his life put at risk... the only comfort he has is, with Ricardo out of the business, he is usually safe from all of this... but still. He grimaces and looks up, taking in the uncomfortable circumstances. "Destiny," he sighs. He had known from a young age he was meant for impressive, special things... but this? Honestly?

His eyes are slipping closed, exhaustion and general disgust in the whole situation washing over him... when something tugs at him, keeping him from falling asleep. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought it was Ricardo, but Ricardo isn't here. Hasn't been here in a very long time. Still, it's enough to drag him back to consciousness and he realizes. There's a stone in his hand, and it's glowing, it's bright, and it's the most beautiful thing he's seen in a very long time.

The Coelamon are chattering, distressed by what he's found- or what's found him-, and then Gabumon is stirring. Gabumon is standing up, Gabumon is _glowing._ It's not the usual evolution, it's something... new, it's something incredible. He grows long, and lean, becoming a holy creature with soft eyes, pawing at the ground with his paws as he intones, "Pegasusmon," as if introducing himself to them, which Alberto decides is unneccessary. He feels as though he's known this digimon his entire life.

The water creatures hiss, attack with water and claws, Pegasusmon deftly flying over them before shaking his massive head and blasting stars at them that explode upon contact. As the six beasts cry and scream in agony, Pegasusmon stomps onto the ground before them, focusing until a bright blue beam shoots from his forehead and slams into them, deleting them one by one. At ease now, Alberto's partner trots over to them and, one by one, bites the binds holding them, freeing all four of them.

Alberto eyes him in awe. "Gracias," he says, feeling subdued and humbled in this creature's presence.

"You are welcome," Pegasusmon tells him somberly before shining bright and returning to Gabumon with no warning. "Can we go home now?"

Alberto nods, seeing some of Pegasusmon's wisdom lurking in Gabumon's solid gaze. "Si, we definitely can."


	106. chapter 106

The last thing any of them expected is to find a tall, red and white armored digimon named Suijinmon blasting a village full of Terriermon, leaving little piles of data every where he stomps. Digivolution attempts are thwarted by a swipe of the creature's arm, sending Otamamon and Gabumon far away, landing uncomfortably against some rocks. As Dean and Del Rio run to check on their partners, Zack and Dolph exchange uncomfortable glances.

There's only really one way to make this work, the two men using their bodies to shield their partners as they attempt to digivolve. Suijinmon pauses mid-attack to stare at the two men, standing with their arms spread out, trying to protect their partners so that they can end Suijinmon. He makes a strange laughing noise before swiping out once more, Zack gasping as he just grazes him, the full force of the blow hitting Dolph. "BRO!" he cries out, turning sharply to watch his best friend get swatted away as if nothing more than a fly. He wants to run to him, to check, but Impmon and Patamon are still vulnerable so he waits, biting his lip and seething in anger at how helpless they really are against these evil digimon.

Finally, HippoGriffomon and Wisemon rushes forward and targets Suijinmon, leaving Zack free to run to the side and scramble to Dolph's side, dropping to his knees next to him and cupping his face in an eerie recreation of Raw the week prior. "Bro," he hisses. "Bro! C'mon, look at me." Dolph is covered in dirt and scratches, and he looks pale. Thankfully there's no blood that Zack can see, not that that means anything. Zack only knows a little medical how-to, so he's careful and uncertain as he runs his fingers down Dolph's chest and stomach, gingerly checking his head as best as he can without jostling him.

The flashes and yells from the battle behind barely registers with Zack, choosing to trust in the combined abilities of their partners as he searches for some sign of recognition in Dolph. He cups his face again, runs his hand through his brown hair, tries to revive him without moving his neck too much... just in case. "Come on!" he hisses out, gritting his teeth. "You helped me last week and I can't do a damn thing for you, come _on_!" He only realizes tears are hindering his vision when he struggles to make sense of the blue mixed in with the orange that he's looking at, finally gasping when fingers reach out and brush away the trails of wetness.

"You're doing plenty," Dolph rasps out, smirking a little as Zack gapes at him. "The digimon..." He tries to look around Zack but fails when he throws his arms around Dolph, hugging him tightly.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," he mumbles into Dolph's neck, feeling as he chuckles weakly. "Idiot. What are you laughing about?"

"Just thinking what the fangirls would be thinking about all of this," Dolph sighs. Zack pulls away at this and makes a face at him before turning to watch as the battle winds down, HippoGriffomon hitting the final blow that shatters Suijinmon into hundreds of little pieces of data that soon drifts away on the wind.

Del Rio and Dean join them a moment later, their partners held protectively in their arms, looking a little battered but conscious. "Help me up," Dolph tells Zack, holding a hand out and, although Zack hesitates, he eventually goes along with it, deciding to get Dolph checked out properly later on once they're back on earth. This is reinforced when Dolph staggers, clearly dizzy, and Zack grabs him, keeping him upright. "I'm ok," he insists as Impmon frowns at him.

"Well, you will be," Zack sighs, stroking his neck. "C'mon, let's go home, bros." He drapes Dolph's arm over his shoulder and drags him up to his full height, giving it a minute. "Alright?"

"Yeah. Let's go." Checking to make sure that Del Rio and Dean are close behind, looking displeased and worried for their partners, Dolph and Zack trudge back towards the portal, relieved that, despite everything, they had stopped Suijinmon from destroying the rest of the village and they're all still relatively healthy.

They exchange quick grins before holding their digivices out to open the portal to go home.


	107. chapter 107

Wade watches as Heath, Alicia and Miz wander the immediate area, looking for the spot on the digivice where the most recently reported trouble is. He's a little glum because, as his time in the WWE is officially done, he won't be able to help with the Digiworld any longer, joining Punk, AJ, Ricardo and Seth as earth-bound Digidestined.

Heath finally notices that only the three of them are wandering around, Wade standing a few feet away, watching. He motions Lopmon on ahead and joins Wade, peering around. "What's up, man?"

"I should've said something sooner," Wade sighs, folding his hands behind his back. "As it stands, I'm done with WWE and I won't be able to accompany you all here any longer." Heath frowns as Wade purposely looks away from him and runs his fingers through his hair. "I know this is bullocks, leaving you all high and dry, but the League of Nations kicking me out made me realize that I'm not as interested in this as I once was. I want to focus on acting, and other things."

Heath nods. "I understand," he says slowly, painfully. They had been a team, he had enjoyed having Wade by his side through out the various trials and tribulations they'd all suffered through the last couple of years. "I'm gonna miss ya man, but if it makes ya happy, I understand." They stand side by side for a few minutes, watching the others, when Heath's digivice beeps, followed by Wade's. They exchange glances before looking down, tracking the growing influx of red dots on their digivice, Heath paling. "Ah shit."

Wade steps up behind him, relieved when their partners notice and join them. "Um, mates," he says slowly. watching as the approaching dots in the horizon grow larger by the second. Miz and Alicia look up, immediately skittering over to join them too. The four of them stand in a loose triangle, watching and waiting. Kiwimon, Gatomon, Moosemon and Strikedramon all lunge forward to stop the cluster of red eyed creatures, slicing and shooting off energy beams, doing all that they can to hold them at bay, deleting the ones closest to them.

It seems to take forever, the sea of creatures unending, when a couple start to overwhelm their partners. Alicia falls first, Kiwimon sent flying into her and sending her crumpling a few feet away, Palmon sprawled across her after dedigivolving. Mike leaves them next, racing forward to collect his partner after Monodramon is struck and sent backwards, dedigivolving all the way to his most vulnerable baby form, a small blue ball of fluff known as Dodomon. Mike holds him protectively, half huddled down as the war rages on around them.

Wade and Heath are once more back to back, Wade's cool blue eyes staring at the group of Digimon with an anxiety that he's not sure what to do about. Heath is warm and solid against his flesh and he has an unexplainable urge to reach out, grip Heath's hand and hold on until it's over. But he can't, they can't, so he turns his attention to Gatomon. "Digivolve again!" Heath echoes his command but although Gatomon succeeds at her transformation, Moosemon fails, quickly overwhelmed and losing power rapidly. Heath tries to run forward to shield his partner like Mike's doing but Wade grips his hand for real this time, stopping him.

Heath is nagging, trying to pull free, but Wade tightens his grip and watches as Sanzomon makes her presence felt, quickly deleting the digimon clustered around Mike, Alicia and Lopmon, scooping up the weak digimon and dropping him gently back into Heath's arms before losing herself once more into the fight. She's winning, they're pretty sure, holding back the waves of evil creatures... but then there's a strange popping sound and everything seems to stop- the mass of darkness disappears as quickly as it'd come, Wade swallowing when his vision fades away, pure evil covering everything.

Heath is struggling now, shaking his head back and forth, unable to see as well. But they both can feel the presence when it drops in front of them with a loud thud. "Ah, digidestined," a chilling voice smirks. Heath is the one gripping Wade's hand desperately now, Wade trying to step forward to _see._ "You held your own against my soldiers," he says, sounding surprised. "Are you aware of how long I've looked for someone to ease my boredom? To give me a reason to fight?" He snaps his fingers and just like that, they can see again.

Heath staggers and falls to his knees, losing grip with Wade, but before he can turn to check on him, the massive, evil beast is standing before Wade, looking a bit like Dolph's partner but different, warped. Dark. "I am Beelzebumon X-Antibody," he introduces himself briskly. "I do not waste myself on those weaker than myself, but you... your partner... I think there's potential there..." He reaches out and cups Wade's jaw, about to say something when Sanzomon comes out and tries to dropkick him away, just to get swatted away for his troubles.

Wade groans and reaches out for his partner, unable to move too much without risking impaling himself on Beelzebumon's claws, when it dawns on him. "You're from the Darkness Zone."

Beelzebumon laughs. "Such a good deduction," he says. "Yes, indeed I am."

"We freed you when we were in there," he chokes out. "Did we... free anything else? As bad as you? Worse?"

Beelzebumon looks like he's about to give an honest answer when there's a flash of light, a vibrating glow from Wade's digivice as his crest activates. "What is this?!" he demands, the glow flowing past him and into Sanzomon, stripping her current form away.

When she reforms, she's familiar as well- golden, and impressive, and seemingly all-powerful. "Shakamon," Wade whispers, recognizing the creature from all of the times that he'd targetted Mike. But this isn't _that_ Shakamon. This one is Wade's partner, this one is graceful and beautiful and compassionate.

She hovers, stares at Beelzebumon and shakes her head. "This perhaps will be my final act as a partner digidestined in my homeworld, but I will find it to be an honor that my last actions will be to protect this place from such darkness as you."

Beelzebumon sneers at her, lunges forward to attack with his guns and his claws, going all out as he tries to slash her down, but it fails as she fades, then reappears behind him as he attacks her illusion, the attacks going straight through the form of Shakamon before it disappears. He turns with a growl just to find a golden halo hanging over his head, slowly cleansing him. "NO!" he screams, swiping up and tearing it apart with every bit of his strength.

Shakamon watches on in shock before getting caught with a glancing blow to the chest by his dark-streaked claws. She screams out in pain, Wade gripping his ears as it changes... becomes more desperate, angry, focused. Sound waves crush through Beelzebumon and he has no time to block the attack before it sends him flying back, high up and towards the horizon, but he recovers. Comes nearer to her, trying once more to attack her with his guns, but this time the halo works. Covers him with pure golden light while he's lost in his bloody-haze, slowly purifying him.

He's so used to being evil, his inner form so accustomed to the darkness, and unable to make the light work for him, that his body starts to destabilize from the pressure of it all. It's him this time screaming out in agony before he shatters into pieces, Shakamon slowly fading back into Lunamon. Wade rushes forward and scoops her up before she hits the ground, hugging her closer. Once sure she's ok, he turns back to Heath and kneels over, squeezing his arm. He thankfully nods, getting up to his feet as well, and following Wade over to check on Alicia and Mike, their digimon.

Thankfully, they all seem ok, if a bit beat up. This being Wade's farewell to being a digidestined leaves them all quiet, sober. As soon as they talk with Luke for a moment, and get his permission to go back home, they make one final trip back through the portal as a group. Mike claps Wade briskly on the arm and Alicia gives him a strained smile before they go their separate ways, Wade and Heath left in the main hallway, Heath shuffling uncomfortably.

"None'a this woulda been the same without you, ya know? NXT, my career startin' off of developmental, bein' selected to be a digidestined. I owe ya a lot, man. I'm gonna miss ya." Before Wade can do or say something, he has an armful of emotional ginger hugging him, his eyes closing as the breath is rushed from his lungs.

He hugs him back and ignores everything and everyone around as he buries his face into Heath's hair. "You're bloody ridiculous," he sighs. "But I'm gonna miss you too." Pulling back enough to lightly press his knuckles to Heath's jaw, feigning one of his solid punches in a way that barely shifts Heath's head, smirks down at him. "Take good care of the idiots, hm? And yourself."

"I will," he promises quietly. "You take of yourself too, yeah?"

"I will." One last clap to Heath's shoulder and Wade leans over, picking his bag up and walking towards the exit.

Heath's pretty sure he's going to leave without a look back, until he makes it to the door. Pauses and peers over his shoulder, offering an almost awkward wave before leaving the arena for the final time as a wrestler, as a full-fledged digidestined. Heath's sigh is soft and painful as it echoes through the hall once the door clicks shut.


	108. chapter 188

Heath doesn't like it. The Digiworld sans Wade Barrett. Hell, he barely likes WWE without Wade Barrett. But this is different, more life and death. He breathes through his nose and tries to count to a hundred as he holds his unconscious partner protectively, trying to shield Lopmon and himself from the battle being waged a few feet away.

He had barely caught a glimpse of the tall, female digimon attacking them before all interest in fighting her had disappeared in the blink of an eye. And now he finds himself here, on the ground, while everyone else fights. Lopmon stirs weakly and stares at him, obviously confused. "Don't look at me like that," he tells him, wounded. "I just... I can't right now, it's too much. I can't do this."

"Yes, you can," Lopmon says patiently. "You can because I'm by your side through every step of the way... and because Wade would've wanted you to."

"Wade left," Heath snaps. "Right in the thick'o it, he leaves so he doesn't get to make any suggestions towards what I can and cannot do."

"Fine," Lopmon continues. "He's not. I am. You need to do this, Heath. I know you miss your friend more than you care to admit, I know everything feels wrong, but your other teammates need you." He motions towards the struggling forms of Alicia and Miz, their digimon knocked onto the ground as well, and Heath frowns. "So the question becomes... what do you need to do, right this moment? Help them, or just continue laying here worthlessly?"

Heath's never been worthless. He would definitely not start now. So, with every painful fiber in his being, he forces himself up and stares down at Lopmon in his arms. "Then _you_ know what to do, Digivolve!"

As they run towards the fight side by side, Heath still misses his best friend, but he knows Lopmon is right. He can't turn away from everything else going on because of it.


	109. chapter 109

The village they go to is a madhouse. There are no digimon around as far as the eye can see, the walls are scorched with weird globs of awful looking things that Dolph doubts he'd ever want to determine the origin of, and the whole damn thing is just the most eerie thing he's experienced in a long, long while. It's not until they walk closer to the entrance that it happens- a flash of yellow streaks past Dolph and hits the ground at his feet, sizzling against the grass. He gawks at it before a minute before he hears a hissed groan at his side and turns to find Zack gripping his arm, teeth gritted. "Kid?"

"Something," he breathes. "Something hit me. It burns, bro." His green eyes are wide, horrified, and something deep inside twists in Dolph as he approaches and grips Zack's hands. "No, no, bro, please-"

Dolph insists, however, pulling until Zack allows him to see the spot, Dolph's breath whooshing out between his teeth. "Dammit, kid," he mumbles, closing his eyes as he hears more splats of the viscous liquid hit the ground around him and the others, not surprised when Dean curses out darkly, clearly hit. He can't take his focus off of Zack though, watching as the liquid eats away at more of his flesh. "Kid..."

"Hurts, bro," he hisses.

"I know." Turning, Dolph eyes the surrounding area, trying to find what's causing these attacks. It takes a bit for his eyes to adjust and finally he realizes what it is, staring at the cluster of little, yellow Digimon who keep attacking non-stop, blowing poisonous bubbles at them, the cause of the liquid that are eating at the walls and anything else it touches. Like Zack's arm. He swallows hard and stares down at Impmon. "Get them," he orders briskly. Dean and Del Rio have clearly both been hit, kneeling down and trying to figure out a way to stop the agony, but Dolph is more concerned with Zack at the moment.

Impmon digivolves into Wizardmon, quickly aiming his staff at the baby digimon. It seems unfortunate to attack them, and delete them when they're so young, but it's clear that they're not in control of their actions, determined to destroy everything around them. So he attacks and slowly wipes out the entire line of creatures, trying not to dwell too hard on the things he's having to do to survive, to encourage everyone else's survival. As soon as it's done, as soon as the Zurumon are deleted, he turns to the digidestined and rests a hand over Zack's arm, staring at Dolph. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to, but I can try to heal him," he offers, lifting his magical staff up into the air.

Dolph immediately nods, rubbing a hand along Zack's back soothingly as his breath hitches painfully. "Yes, do it," he whispers, watching closely as Wizardmon raises his staff and focuses, closing his eyes. Time slowly passes and Zack's breath stabilizes, his shoulders relax under Dolph's finger and his color slowly recovers. "Kid?"

Zack nods slowly. "Just gimme a minute," he breathes out, the phantom pain still haunting him. Dolph nods and turns to watch as Wizardmon walks over to the others and begins to heal them as well, Alberto cursing at him until his back is normal once more, Dolph chuckling under his breath before turning back to Zack. "I'm good, bro," he murmurs, eyes clearer now.

Dolph breathes easier now too. "Great, kid," he says. "C'mon. Let's get out of here." The others are slowly regrouping as well, and all seem eager to go as well. Wizardmon only dedigivolves once they arrive at the digiport, and none of them notice the shadowy form off in the distance, watching them closely.


	110. chapter 110

It amuses him to watch the Digidestined. They're older than the children who had come to this world in the past, their normadic lifestyles allowing them to believe just enough to be brought here, partnered up with the small creatures destined to help save their world. _Wrestlers,_ he thinks they're called.

A village not far from the ocean is being razed by a digimon who _almost_ impressed him with its strength, speed and cunning, but it's not enough- the strangely fused form of Arresterdramon and Giga Breakdramon is quickly done away with by Cyberdramon, his human partner cheering him on while they try to keep the other digidestined safe as they attempt to evacuate the village. It's a close call, defeating the creature and getting the village to calm down, its residents almost reluctant to return to the site of so much destruction. But Cyberdramon and the others scan it from top to bottom and deem it safe before leaving.

This is Ancient Spinxmon's best opportunity as he flies over the village and listens to the screams of the digimon within- young and old. Lips twisting in a smug sneer, he closes his eyes and powers up, feeding off of their fear and pain. "NECRO ECLIPSE!" he bellows, aware that the digidestined have gone through the portal back to that worthless watch dog, Luke. It's all encompassing, his attack- the residents before barely get to suck in a breath before they're overwhelmed, deleted instantaneously, lost in a sea of darkness.

When it finally fades away, there is nothing left of the village. Just a large crater where young digimon grew and older digimon tended to gardens and gossiped.

He chuckles cruelly as he flies away.

A cold shudder slips down Alicia's spine a little later and she looks up with a frown, beautiful brown eyes fixed on something in the distance.

"Hey, you alright?" Mike asks, noticing the strange look on her face. When she looks up, confused and fretful, he scoots closer to her. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," she says softly. "I just felt... something strange. Like, there was this strange... sense... in the air or something." She gnaws at her bottom lip. "You don't feel it?" The others all shake their heads, looking confused and worried. "Guess I'm imagining things then." She releases a breath and tries to smile. "It's ok, let's go home."

Mike steps back, lets her go through the portal first but, once she's gone, he turns in the direction of where he'd defeated that strange creature, and frowns. _Maybe just paranoia, but... now that Alicia mentions it... I did feel something..._ He locks eyes with Luke, who barely seems to blink, and shrugs. _Must be nothing, though. Luke would know. Right? ..._ Sighing, he follows the others through back to earth, relieved that the sensation is greatly reduced once his feet hit American soil once more.


	111. chapter 111

He's on top of the world. He's flying high. Being back in the ring after all of these months had felt so good, and it's almost as good being in the Digiworld. A lot has changed since he's been gone, people leaving, people coming back. The Digidestined team is vastly different, and he's not sure how to wrap his head around it. He hums to himself and looks over at Seadramon before checking his digivice. There are a couple of issues going on at once and he can tell the bulk of the digidestined are on the other side of the map, so he feels comfortable wandering around and approaching each dot as it comes, destroying them easily thanks to Seadramon's rejuvenated powers.

The data tickling against his skin feels incredible and, after Seadramon takes out a Ponchomon trying to hypnotize weaker digimon to do his bidding- who knows what, exactly- he stands up tall and stretches his arms out on either side of him, sighing softly as he breathes it all in. Seadramon gives him a few minutes before they continue on, slicing through a Grimmon who had been slicing through rookie Digimon. After sterilizing Sparrowmon and a deranged looking Zerimon, they find themselves back where they'd started, the other digidestined looking curious as he marches in, triumphant and smug.

"You handled all'a those?" Heath asks, eyebrows lifting as he checks his digivice. "Damn, ya wiped 'em all out." It had just been one of those days where there'd been multiple attacks happening at once and Seth had ordered the three others to remain behind, deal with the village in danger of being destroyed entirely. He's glad to see it was a wise decision, the buildings still in tact as distressed Digimon wander around, trying to make sense of the aftermath.

"Of course we did," he says, resting a hand on Seadramon's slithery back. "Did you expect anything less of us?"

Wisely, Heath, Mike and Alicia keep their mouths shut as they turn to watch Strikedramon take one last sweep through the village to make sure all danger has passed. "Hopefully the others are doing as well," she says quietly.

"They're fine," Seth drawls, finding himself undisturbed by what Dean Ambrose's team is doing. _My group is the stronger, better group anyway. We'll wipe the floor with him in terms of how many villages we keep safe, how many digimon we protect._ He smirks, taking in the looks on the faces of his teammates. "It's good to be back."

Their lackluster response to this doesn't bother him. He revels in everything else around him, closing his eyes and absorbing it all over again, lips twitching up. _Soon, I will be champion again... and the Digiworld will never have another problem to worry about..._


	112. chapter 112

Dolph moans, waking up slowly. He feels worse than if he'd wrestled ten matches in rapid succession against Baron Corbin, every inch of his body alit in fresh agony, but something propels him to move, react. They're not where he last remembers being, the sky overhead menacing and dark. He hisses out a breath, thinking that it resembles the Dark Ocean. "Where are we?" he whispers to himself, not daring to speak too loudly. It's only when he looks around that he finds Zack, Del Rio, Dean and their digimon laid out around him.

He groans and struggles to his feet, immediately wishing that he hadn't. There's a massive, serpentine digimon visible in midair, staring down at him and, as their eyes lock, his massive mouth opens to reveal hundreds of sharp, pointy teeth. A shiver itches down Dolph's back as he gapes up at the creature, aware immediately that he's about to die. "Why?" is all he can breathe out.

Leviamon sneers at him, a truly horrifying expression on his lengthy face. "You have caused this," he tells him coolly. Lifting himself higher in the sky, he allows Dolph to see further out, taking in how a pool of weird, darkened liquid is streaming into pure blue water. "This is the data of all of the creatures you Digidestined have thoughtlessly deleted over the last few years. It is infecting the main water supply. Something must be done, you must do something."

Dolph blinks at him. "What can we do?"

Leviamon merely snorts at him before disappearing, everything going dark around Dolph. When he finally wakes up again, the others are clustered around him, awake and looking worried. Zack only relaxes a little when he sits up, keeping a hand on his arm. "What _was_ that, bro?" he demands.

"I think we've messed up," Dolph says. "We need to go, there's something I've got to check out." It's difficult to pinpoint the location on their digivice maps but finally Dolph thinks he has it by what he'd seen in his dream-vision-whatever, Dolph and Zack riding on HippoGriffomon while WaruSeadramon coasts around in the water with Dean and Alberto on his back. It's clear what's going on, the clear blue water of the Digital sea turning a murky black as more data is fed into it.

"But... I thought we were told they'd be reformatted!" Zack exclaims, overwhelmed by just how _much_ there is.

"They are," WaruSeadramon rumbles overhead. "But only so much data can be reformatted at once, it takes time. Sometimes there _are_ overflows but I've never seen it this bad before..."

"So it is our fault," Dolph breathes out, watching as more of the sea is darkened under them. "What the hell can we do to fix this?"

"Good question," HippoGriffomon says, his eyes locked on the spreading darkness too.

"We need to figure out and soon," Dolph says, Leviamon's appearance in his dream fresh in his mind. He grits his teeth and tries to think of a solution, a way to fix this latest mess they'd thrown the Digiworld into.


	113. chapter 113

Zack sighs as Dolph loses out on another night's sleep, trying to figure out a way to fix what they've done to the Digiworld's oceans. "Bro, come on," he beseeches him. "You gotta rest, or you're gonna hurt yourself... or someone else." His hand is warm on the back of Dolph's neck as he massages the tense muscles there lightly. "Try? For me, at least?"

Dolph groans, shaking his head. "There has to be something we can do," he mumbles. "Something..."

Zack sighs, accepting that nothing will get this off of Dolph's mind. "Alright, let's see. We're not enough to open a portal, but Ambrose is probably awake still. Let's find him and get a portal open, maybe you and I can figure something out."

Dean is sitting at the hotel bar when they head downstairs, Zack dropping his laptop in front of him. "Hey, bro, we need your help here. Do you have your digivice?"

"I think," he mumbles, pulling it out and staring at it blurrily. "What's going on?"

"Dolph wants to check something out, figured you could help us keep a portal open," Zack explains, locating the digiport and holding his digivice up. Dolph and Dean follow suit and Dean blinks at it as Zack and Dolph fall in, the portal closing behind them. He hums and goes back to his drink, oblivious of the bartender's confused stare.

-x

Dolph and Zack look around before finding their way back to the ocean. It's darker now, but they keep a decent distance from the surf just in case. It's clear even now where the data is infecting the waters and, while Dolph wanders around, looking, Zack stares down at his reflection. They're unaware of a couple of digimon approaching on the other side, lost in their own thoughts.

Kumamon sighs in relief as he kneels down and drinks from the water, eyes slipping closed as he finds some comfort in the cool liquid. At least until his awareness starts to fade and he grits his teeth, feeling a strange sensation creep through him. He stands for a moment before turning towards the unaware Kumamon behind him, becoming a thick icicile and slamming through him, deleting him immediately. He returns to his average form and looks around, breathing loudly. He spots the humans off to the side and approaches them, lunging forward and shooting ice bullets at them, hitting Impmon first and freezing him to the ground.

Dolph turns just in time to take the blasts straight to his face and chest, falling to his knees. "Kid," he grits out, staring blankly at Kumamon as he approaches, shaking his gun at Dolph.

Immediately Zack's head snaps up and he looks at them. "Bro?" he rushes forward and looks up at Patamon. "Go!" He quickly digivolves to Darcmon and swipes at the digimon with his sword. "Are you ok?" he demands, kneeling by Dolph and trying to support him.

"Don't delete him," Dolph hisses out, gripping at Zack with a shivering hand. "I don't want to add to the... I don't..."

Zack looks up, watching the digimon fight back and forth, sword and ice blaster going back and forth. "I'm not sure we're gonna have a choice, bro," he says, leaning closer and trying to warm him up.

"No," he groans out, gritting his teeth and tugging at Zack's collar. "Kid..."

"Sorry," Zack mumbles, nodding at Darcmon in silent acceptance of what he might need to do. "It comes down to saving us, or saving him, I'm choosing us." Dolph groans but keeps quiet as the battle continues on, ice streaming around them.

Kumamon tries to punch at Darcmon with an ice encrusted fist but Darcmon meets him with a sword, slicing through the ice and slowly shattering his body. Kumamon looks confused but then tries to do the same with his other fist, just to have the same result. His body falls into snowy piles as he deletes, staring around balefully. Dolph groans once he's no more, burying his face in Zack's shoulder.

"Come on, bro," Zack whispers. "Let's get you up, we'll go home and I promise, we'll try to figure this out in the morning." He barely pays attention to Luke once he gets Dolph up and moving, relieved to land back out of the laptop, finding Dean unconscious at the bar with the bartender looking far from pleased when he turns around and stares at them suspiciously. "It's ok, we'll take care of it," Zack tells him, pulling Dean's phone out and finding an unfamiliar number. "Someone at the bar needs you, come do something," Zack says before hanging up.

He settles Dolph at the bar and orders him something warm, relieved when the bartender fills the glass without much fuss. As Dolph sips it slowly, Zack waits until Seth finally makes his way down, looking far from pleased but waving them off once he's arrived, dragging Dean up and unceremoniously dragging him towards the elevator. "Come on, bro," he sighs, paying the bar tab and getting Dolph to their own room with a fair amount of struggle. Once Dolph takes a shower and changes his clothes, they settle in and Zack runs a towel through Dolph's hair. "How are you feeling?"

Dolph just shakes his head and rolls away, grunting. "Will we ever be able to figure out all of the problems in the digiworld? Or is it just going to be an uphill battle where we keep getting knocked down no matter what we do?"

"I don't know," Zack says honestly. "But we're doing good, bro. You can tell every time we look at the villagers we've saved. They'd be worse off without us, and that's the important thing, right?"

"I guess," Dolph mumbles. "I'm still cold."

Zack sighs and rolls over, wrapping an arm around him. "Just get some sleep, bro. We'll figure it out tomorrow with the others."

Dolph grips Zack's arm and nods, knowing that it's not Zack's fault that his attempt at fixing things had only made it all so much worse. "Thanks, kid."

"You know I'm always here for you, bro," he mumbles, already half-dozing.


	114. chapter 114

Luke releases a breath and looks up as Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose both attempt to be close enough to communicate with him, but far enough away from each other that they won't randomly throw a punch. "I have been considering bringing in new digidestined," he says slowly. "Especially with Miz and Heath away, filming this movie. What say you?"

"Fine with me," Seth says, obviously disinterested.

"Who'd ya have in mind?" Dean says, trying to seem as unbothered by the prospect as his former Shield brethern.

So that's how it ends up with the six of them grouped around, watching as Enzo Amore, Colin Cassady and Kevin Owens gape at the world they suddenly find themselves in. "What... the... hell?" Kevin sputters out after a moment. "I dunno what kinda prank this is, but I swear to God, when I find out who did it..." His angry, murderous gaze is locked on the group of digidestined and Seth sighs, stepping forward.

"It's no prank, Owens. It's legit. About as legit as your partner over there."

Owens turns to look at the blue bear cub who's oddly enough wearing a baseball cap backwards, his teeth gleaming in the sun as he smiles anxiously up at Kevin. "Hello."

"Oh dear God," Kevin mutters, torn between wanting to squish the cute animal or keeping his distance because who knows _what_ part in the stunt that thing must play.

On the other hand, Enzo is already wrapped around his partner's little finger, the bright blue creature staring up at him in awe. "Veemon, eh? Well, ain't you somethin' else," he says, poking him on the nose. "We're gonna be best friends, I know it already."

Cass chuckles and looks over at his own partner, a bird type animal with wide eyes and a crazy tuft of down on top of his head. Nearly facepalming, he sighs. "People are gonna think I gotta type at this rate," he says jokingly, stroking along Hyokomon's face.

Enzo looks up at the bird, frowning. "Dunno what you're talkin' about, man. Ain't never seen anything like that before."

Cass coughs into his hand and tries not to break down laughing, aware that Enzo would never let him hear the end of it otherwise. "Whatever you say, Zo."

Soon enough, the teams decide to split up to go handle the problems of the day. Just to come upon one of their own. "I don't want him on my team," Dean says simply, glowering over at Owens.

"Well, I don't want those two on mine," Seth grunts. "By the way, why do we have an uneven number again anyway? Even if Slater and Miz were here, it'd be 11. I thought Luke was all OCD about having even... Ugh, whatever. You take the Leopard Dorks over there, and I'll take Owens. Then we'll all be happy, yeah?"

"Fine by me," Ambrose says, turning and walking away without a glance back. Joining his team and leaving Seth's to grow accustomed to Owens and his bear partner, Dean claps his hands and smirks as the four others on his team all cluster around him. "Let's get this show on the road."

Considering, Enzo and Cass are easy sells on the whole Digiworld thing, both wide eyed and blinking as they take it all in, but with very little shock. _New Yorkers,_ Dean thinks. _Rolls with anything and everything._ It's a good thing, especially now. Even more so when they approach the village with the distress signal on their digivices and almost gets mowed down immediately by a laser beam.

"Shit!" Enzo gasps, finding that Cass is now in front of him, acting like a shield. He tugs on his arm slightly, trying to see around him, but there's nothing to see. Just quiet, the calm before the storm, and then it surges again and Del Rio is snapping at Gabumon in Spanish, the other digimon all downed or, in the case of Hyokomon and Veemon, trying to attack pensively with punches and what looks like an attempt at slashing the flying digimon with Hyokomon's sword, the young creature so unbalanced that he almost slashes himself.

Cass facepalms and lifts his partner, holding Hyokomon high and giving him a slightly better vantage point... but it doesn't matter as Garurumon lunges forward and tears through Peacockmon after freezing the evil digimon, shattering it into pieces. "Welcome to the team, perros," Del Rio snaps at the two men and their partners before storming off as Garurumon dedigivolves back to Gabumon.

Dean watches, swallowing. They still need to figure out a way to stop the defiling of the digiworld's water supply, his eye catching the unhappy grimace on Dolph's face at yet another deletion on their record, but for now, he's glad this particular case is over without blood shed or serious injury on their side.


	115. chapter 115

_Seth Rollins is a sell-out._ It had been Dean Ambrose's mantra for so very long by now. From the moment that the steel chair had hit Roman's back, Dean's feelings had ranged from pained affection to pure, murderous rage. And, sure, Seth had worked hard, had come back after injurying his knee, and had received a title opportunity for the belt he'd never technically lost. So, when Dean had found himself with the Money in the Bank briefcase, watching Seth wrestle, and defeat Roman to regain what was his, he felt that urge, that itch in the back of his mind. To cause some _mayhem._ To ruin for his brother what he had been ruining for them for years by now. So, he does, and he gets some gold as a result.

He'd forgotten the rush of being an asshole, of using all the little tricks around to get what he'd wanted. Things that people like Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens would do without blinking, things that he used to do before feuding with the Wyatts and Evolution had left him deciding maybe it'd be alright to be a good guy for awhile. But no more, the old Ambrose is back, and he relishes in it, in the feel and weight of the title belt against his shoulder.

At least, that is, until he finds himself in the Digiworld later on, staring through some haze at a Digimon that he thinks would've probably been one of those holy angel types if not for the red glow coming from its eyes. Which would be worrisome enough, but his eyes are kinda locked on the massive blue swords that seem to be in place of its arms. He definitely worries when these things start getting aimed at him, like he's gonna get run through at any moment. His only comfort is that Otamamon is by his side and he can still feel the weight of his digivice in his jeans pocket. Separated from the others, maybe, but at least he has this much. So finally, his surroundings analyzed to the best of his ability, he shifts forward. "Who _are_ you?" he demands.

The once-holy creature stares at him, smirking. "I am SlashAngemon." Right in one then, Dean realizes. "I am here to preserve justice." Gliding forward, the winged creature presses the tip of one of its sword hands close to Dean's throat. "Do you believe there is justice in your actions, digidestined?"

Dean swallows, faltering a little under the intense glow of this creature's stare. "Maaaybe?" he drawls out, uncertain how to respond.

SlashAngemon scrutinizes him before stepping back, considering it. "Perhaps," he mulls it over as well. "But perhaps not." The sword is back quickly, Dean instinctively trying to take a step back just for the Digimon to follow him. "You took the other Digidestined's opportunity to regain what was lost to him. Is that justice to you?"

"After everything he put me and Roman through, yes," Dean finally says, lifting his head in something of a challenge and staring the digimon down. "We were brothers and he ruined it, so he deserved everything he got."

SlashAngemon is still staring at him, so distracted by trying to sift through the complexity of human emotions, his eyes still tinted an evil red, that he doesn't realize at first as Otamamon shifts around. When he does, however, his other sword quickly tracks the little guy and presses against his tail, pinning him in place. "Otamamon!" Dean exclaims as his partner shudders, looking so small and vulnerable in comparison to the massive weapon threatening to delete him at the smallest provocation.

"Brothers," SlashAngemon mulls over Dean's statement even as he contemplates ending the rookie digimon's life. "I see. Despite everything, you still see him like that. Like your brother." His sword presses closer to Otamamon and Dean grits his teeth, hating both the digimon's- correct- claim, and the danger that his partner is in.

"So what if I do?" he demands, stepping forward to try to take some of the focus off of Otamamon. "What's it to you?" The sword is now back on his own throat, and that's ok. It keeps Otamamon a little more safer, and that's the important thing. He's barely just thought that when there's a blinding glow and the digimon gasps as power streams from Dean's digivice into Otamamon, sending the sword away from him as he grows in size and strength, staring down at SlashAngemon once he's fully formed into Plesiomon.

The white water beast stares down at SlashAngemon and tilts his head, unimpressed when the swords approach him this time. Opening his massive jaws, he blasts out a deep torrent of water that washes over SlashAngemon and sends his swords back and away from both himself and Dean. Using this as leverage, Plesiomon sends shockwaves through SlashAngemon by slamming his fins against the ground, leaving him vulnerable to another blast of water that, between the shockwaves and the pressure, shatters the swords into little pieces of data.

SlashAngemon screams out in pain as his main weapons scatter in the wind, Plesiomon shaking his head viciously before a burst of more water slams into SlashAngemon, tearing through his already weakened body and deletes him entirely. As soon as the creature is gone, the mist they're trapped in dissipates and they find themselves back in the digiworld, Dean staring at his mega level partner. "Guess everything's coming up Ambrose tonight," he says with a smirk, ignoring the nagging feeling deep inside from SlashAngemon's observations.


	116. chapter 116

Alicia bites her lip and hugs a limp Lillimon as tightly as she dares, tears in her dark eyes. "What is this?" she demands, staring up at the massive Digimon that's seemingly targetted her and her partner over the others. Seth is nearby, MegaSeadramon thrashing around anxiously, Owens and Bearmon observing from where they'd fallen when the first attack had blasted at their feet, sending them all down.

Shoutmon EX6 laughs, the sharp protrusions that he has in place of hands whirring maddeningly. A blade from one wrist, a drill from the other, Alicia gasps and chokes on her own saliva as the drill is pressed close to her cheek, the instrument still thrumming as it rotates close to her skin. Alicia whimpers, struggling to breathe. "Is this a test, AncientGarurumon?" she chokes out, staring up at the evil digimon with wide eyes. "You aren't like the rest," she says, emboldened somehow. "You're not... defiled data... you are just pure evil."

He laughs at this, rancid breath washing over her and adding to her fear even as Lillimon stirs in her arms. "Alicia," her partner moans out. "Alicia."

"I'm here," she says softly. "I'm here. It's ok." _For now,_ her mind finishes the sentence for her and she grimaces. "Can you fight?"

"I'm not sure," Lillimon admits, struggling just to stand on her own power. "I'll try." She and MegaSeadramon lunge at the same time, ice and vines shooting out at the frightening digimon at the same time, but both are rebuffed as easily- the drill bores through the ice like it's nothing, and the vines are quickly whacked away by the sword until MegaSeadramon is left thoroughly vulnerable and Lillimon gets thrown back once more, her wings crumpling under her as she hits the rocky platform behind Alicia and slides back to the ground.

"No!" Alicia yells, running to her as Seth tries to instruct MegaSeadramon what to do, his words quickly failing as MegaSeadramon is slashed with the drill and is sent _into_ Seth, both of them motionless after that. Kevin and Bearmon watch, stupified and horrified at what's happening before them, as Alicia scoops Palmon up and hugs her, data pouring from her partner at an alarming rate. "No, no- please..." She remembers Veemon deleting in Ricardo's arms shortly after they'd become digidestined, how much it had hurt even after the little guy had reformed. She doesn't want that for Palmon. "Stay with me, stay with me..."

Tears pour down her face as she looks around at Seth and Betamon, Kevin and Bearmon, and grits her teeth. "I don't care if this is a test or not, I don't care if I'm failing, I'm not giving up! Palmon, please," she begs. "You can't give up either. We need to _fight._ " Her encouraging words die in her throat as her digivice lights up, vibrating in her pocket, and Palmon is encased in its glow. "Wha... what?"

The power becoming too much for Alicia to hold onto her partner through, she's forced to let go and watch as Palmon floats, her body slowly regenerating what had been lost as she slowly deleted. Eyes shooting open, Palmon stares at Alicia with a soft smile. "Thank you," she says before code covers her body, beginning the digivolution sequence. "Palmon warp digivolve to..." Quick flashes of Kiwimon and Lillimon are seen before she fades into data, reforming as a tall, beautiful fairy digimon. Only her mouth and hands are visible, the rest of her covered in either purple clothing or large, white lotus flowers. In one hand, she has a staff with multi-colored flower petals in it, and in the other, a Caduceus.

The fight that follows is hard to track by the human eye, Lotusmon getting close enough to brawl with Shoutmon EX6, their weapons clashing together in hideous sounding blows that vibrate through the air. Blasts of various colors are coming from Lotusmon's staff, her teeth gritting each time Shoutmon evades, and finally she slams down the Caduceus upon his back during a rare moment of hesitation on his part, screaming out "SERPENT CURE!"

His darkness fights against the pure light exuded by her staff and soon he starts screaming, his body warring with what she's doing to him. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screams as his arms shatter first, the weapons fading into meaningless data. Bit by bit, his overtaxed body follows suit until there's nothing left but a pile of data drifting away in the wind.

Lotusmon then lands next to Alicia and grins as she hugs her tightly, tears pouring down her face. "I'm ok," she tells her partner. "Thanks to you, I'm fine."

"I'm so glad," Alicia sobs, burying her face in her partner's shoulder. "I was so scared."

"I know. It's fine now though," she soothes, running her fingers through Alicia's hair.

Once Kevin and Bearmon join them, Alicia remembers Seth and gasps, running over to where he's still laying. "Seth! Betamon!" Lotusmon joins her and lifts Betamon up, cradling him in her soft, flowery arms, as Alicia kneels down and tries to revive Seth. "Come on, come on..."

His groan sounds like heaven to her ears, dark, squinted eyes locking on her. "Ow. What the hell happened..."

She babbles something about the digimon while trying to help him up. "Is your knee ok?" she demands, staring down worriedly as he puts weight on it.

"Yeah, feels like it did before. No worries." He smiles at her before taking another step towards Lotusmon, scooping a stirring Betamon out of her arms. "You ok, buddy?"

"Think so," he mumbles groggily.

As Alicia watches them walk forward together, her eyes soften. Whether or not that was another of AnxientGarurumon's tests or not, she's pretty sure she just passed with flying colors.


	117. chapter 117

Finally, the digidestined are back together. Miz and Heath both have returned, which means each team now has five people to handle problems. The group walks on quietly, the main chattering coming from the digimon as their humans readjust to having Mike and Heath amongst their ranks again. He could never stay quiet for long, however, clearing his throat. "Anyone think about what the draft could do to the teams?" he wonders.

It hadn't been something any of them had thought about, having too much to go on as it is, but now that he mentions it... None of them seem that concerned about it, but Seth chuckles. "Ambrose may not like that much. His group will probably be screwed, considering Ziggler and Ryder wouldn't want to get separated, and Cassady and Amore will freak out if _they_ are."

Miz has just chuckled at the thought of it too when he almost steps on something bright orange. "Hey!" he yells before realizing it's a baby digimon underfoot, wide eyes staring up at him from under a horn that's almost as big as its body. "Well, aren't you cute?" he wonders, leaning down to pick the little creature up.

As soon as it's in hand, Monodramon approaches. "Be careful with that, Mike, it's a Fufumon. They're tougher than they look."

"Oh c'mon, he's too small to do anything. You're just a cute ball of fluff, aren't you?" Mike wonders, tickling the little thing underthe curve of its body by its mouth.

Monodramon's just opened his mouth to try to warn Mike again when Fufumon's eyes narrow and it turns a curious red shade before spitting viciously, Mike screaming like a little girl as something scrapes against his face and he throws Fufumon like a ball, the only thing sparing it from splatting against a nearby rock formation being Bearmon snagging it out of thin air and wisely settling it down a fair distance away from the group of humans and digimon scattered around.

"MY FACE!" Mike bellows. "MY BEAUTIFUL MOVIE STAR GOOD LOOKS, I'm ruined, I'm finished, I'll-"

Heath and Alicia work together to grab his flailing arms, getting a good look at the mark on his face. "Oh shut up, man, you're fine," Heath sighs, staring at the faint cut along his jaw.

"Fufumon barely hit you, it just grazed you, relax," Alicia chides him, running her finger down the shallow wound. "It's not even bleeding. It'll be healed in a day or two, no scars."

"It's like a paper cut," Heath agrees. When Mike straightens up and glares around at them all, Heath grins at him, slapping him on the back. "Welcome back to the Digiworld, man."

"I _hate_ you all!" he yells before stomping off, embarrassed and not wanting to hear or see any further mocking from any of them.

Heath chuckles and looks around at the remaining digidestined. "Yeah, the last month's been _amazing."_

Most of them look sympathetic as they all regroup and go to follow Mike.


	118. chapter 118

Being a digidestined is weird. Like, beyond weird. It takes him from the world he knows, the people knows, his family, and sacks him out in this strange plane of existence where he has an intense bear type creature for a partner, and has to depend on the other digidestined, who are mostly rivals of his from WWE. He doesn't think he likes it, but dammit, the world needs him apparently, to keep evil away, to keep it here and not flowing onto earth which has enough problems anymore.

It always seems sucky to him to keep Bearmon locked in his digivice at night so, once everything is quiet and peaceful, he lets his partner out and they lay side by side, staring up at the ceiling. Sometimes they sleep, mostly they're just reflecting quietly, and rarely they actually talk. His feud with Sami ebbing and flowing as it always does, Kevin reaches out and rustles the fur on Bearmon's arm, smirking to himself. "I don't know how old you are," he admits. "But sometimes... I think about the past. Don't tell anyone, but in another world, Sami and I were friends. Best friends, even."

Bearmon's dark eyes are locked on him as he continues to recite his past, the rookie digimon listening intently.

"But then he was signed by WWE and things fell apart," Owens confesses. "I felt left behind, lesser than, and when I finally made it, I took it out on him. I still do. We weren't supposed to go alone, he's not supposed to be seen as better than I am. I made him, he made me. But it happened anyway..." His words fade away, he presses his jaw against his arms and sighs glumly. Bearmon doesn't say anything, which strikes Owens as odd but, when he looks over at his partner, it's to find that he's not the same- his eyes are different, his body is different, he's lost his fur.

Owens scrambles and chokes, sitting up. "Who- what are you?!"

His body is pieces of armor fused together, purple emblems stencled against his skin. One huge orange eye stares back at Owens and he wonders how the hell he'd not realized that Bearmon isn't here. Instead of introducing himself, he laughs callously and stares harder at Owens, a strange sensation washing over the wrestler. "Stop- stop," Kevin slurs out, waving a hand at him. "Stop..." He's drifting, barely able to breathe. He can't moved, can barely breathe through whatever the digimon is doing to him, and for a quick, quiet moment, he worries about Bearmon.

He's trying to pull himself together enough to say something, maybe try to fight off this creature, but then there's a blinding flash of light and something huge thuds nearby, his eyes widening as he twists with the last of his energy, finding a huge, formidable purple bear tear at the creature with massive fists covered in red, huge spikes protruding. Data pours down around Owens and he coughs and sneezes, blinking as the armored creature pulls back, sneering at them before faltering, more data pouring from the massive wound in his side. He lets out a wild cry before swirling around and disappearing as quickly as he'd appeared.

Owens swallows as the wild digimon nudges against him. "Bearmon," he groans.

"Name's Gryzmon now," his partner tells him. "I digivolved to find you in this world. Come, I'll get us out of here." How Owens gets up on his back, he's not sure, but he manages to not get bounced back off when Gryzmon lunges through the strained darkness, tearing through particles of data until they find themselves back on grass, sun pouring down upon them. Gryzmon lightly drops, letting Owens roll off, before dedigivolving back into Bearmon.

They're still laying there when the others find them, Seth and Alicia working together to pull them to their feet while Miz and Heath fret uselessly a few feet away. "I'm fine," Owens grunts, freeing himself from Seth while looking at Bearmon. "You're... the best partner I ever coulda asked for," he half laughs through the pain coursing through his taxed body, collapsing back onto his knees and hugging Bearmon to him.


	119. chapter 119

"We need all of you for this," Luke says, sounding truly panicked. "With the excess of data out there, more evil digimon are being formed and whole sections of the digital world are being deleted. There can only be one cause."

"Arkadimon," Heath says softly, feeling it deep in his bones. Enzo and Cass exchange uncomfortable looks as Luke confirms, their partners stopping short in the middle of energetic play and listening too. "We barely made it through the last times, what're we gonna do now?"

Alicia looks around at all of them. "Well, there are more of us this time, and more of us are at Mega level, so maybe we have a better chance?"

"That's not comforting," Kevin Owens declares, staring down at his own partner who, although having gained the ability to digivolve to Gryzmon, is still somewhat weak in comparison to the others, since Owens is relatively new to the digiworld. It's even less comforting for Enzo and Cass, whose partners haven't been in battle yet.

"We'll protect you best we can," Seth says to the three. "But we need you there as backup, just in case."

"This is an awful idea," Owens grouses but follows along anyway, Enzo and Cass just ahead of him as they enter the digiport to head to the latest alert of trouble.

They're deposited in Armageddon. At least, that's what it looks like. The ground is charred, still on fire in some places, and there's a heavy sheen of data scattered all over. Whatever village may have been here is long destroyed, but the creature at the root of it remains for some reason. Dark blue body, shrouded in shadows, he's barely visible, but his voice is hard to ignore as it echoes through. "I sensed you coming," he says simply, tentacles whipping around his body. "I have been waiting for this opportunity for so long..."

"You are him," Heath says, flashes of memories haunting him of being kidnapped and used against his friends. His hands curl into fists. "Arkadimon. I knew it."

The evil being all but laughs in his face as he floats ever closer. "I am Arkadimon Super Ultimate, you pathetic human. I digivolved after your last attempt to rid this world of me permanently failed. And now it will fail in the most lasting way possible, because I will rid the world of all of _you!_ "

The next few moments are lost in a haze as tentacles and beams of light burn and whip at all of them, the only thing keeping them moderately safe being a handful of digivices going off at once as mega digivolution is achieved by the majority of the digimon, shielding the humans from the worst of it. Enzo blinks away the flashes just to find he's on the ground, Cass hovering over him, all of them looking around anxiously. Veemon and Hyokomon stand in front of them, unable to do much while they're still in their rookie forms. "Ya alright, Zo?"

Enzo nods, looking up at Cass. "Are you?"

"Uh huh." The two of them regroup and sit up, watching as Veemon and Hyokomon adjust their own positions to allow for this. "Do you two think ya can digivolve?" Cass asks their partners, Hyokomon and Veemon exchanging glances.

"Yeah," Veemon finally says, voice quiet.

"Great, go for it," Enzo says, holding out his digivice. It's quick and frantic, like everything else going on around them, the light blinding so that by the time Enzo and Cass can see again, Veemon and Hyokomon are replaced by a tall creature covered in golden armor and a winged creature with a flame-crested robe, two swords and a straw hat covering its bird-like head.

Sharp eyes gaze back at them before facing forward once more. "We'll do the best we can to protect you both," Buraimon promises, his swords scraping together as he draws both of them and holds them in an x-pattern, waiting and watching.

It's hard to keep track for Enzo and Cass, neither are accustomed to battles, especially high strength ones like this between ultimate and mega level digimon. Kevin isn't faring much better, yelling out every time a blast hits anywhere near where he and Gryzmon are trying to stay safe at across from Enzo and Cass. Only a few moments later, Gryzmon lets out a sharp gasp when a beam of light strikes not far from where they're standing, the ground fading into a tunnel of 1s and 0s. The attack seems unending, only becoming more terrifying when it shifts positions and heads right for Enzo, Cass and their partners.

Seth is the first to notice, MetalSeadramon's attacks doing very little to alter Arkadimon's aim. "ENZO! CASS!" he yells, but it's too late. The attack is upon them.

The tag partners grip at each other and gape as their lives, separate and together, flash before their eyes, the death beam reflecting in their wide eyes.


	120. chapter 120

Magnamon moves first, landing right in front of the beam heading towards Enzo and Cass, the taller man gripping his tag partner tightly. "No, no, no," Enzo chants, his face buried into Cass' chest as the danger comes ever close. "C'mon, man, not this way-" Cass just watches quietly as Magnamon starts to glow, fed by light from Enzo's digivice and his own determination to save his partner. Buraimon stands by helplessly and watches as the light approaches Magnamon, burning through the pure energy shielding him. "Cass," Enzo hisses, voice only just audible over the destruction going on around them.

Cass pats his hair, soothing a hand down his back, unable to look away as Magnamon takes the beam head-on, and... gets thrown back. But miraculously enough, the beam disappears too, in a sharp, dark explosion that stops abruptly at a crater in the ground. Cass inhales. Exhales. They'd survived. Enzo's shaking. Buraimon looks ansty. And Magnamon hasn't moved.

Enzo seems to notice this because he pulls away from Cass and abruptly runs toward his other partner. "Magnamon!" He skids, lands awkwardly next to him and gingerly touches his face, the shoulder armor. "Magnamon... c'mon, man. You gotta be ok," he's babbling when Cass' blood runs cold.

Arkadimon has pushed his way through the others and is now standing in front of Enzo and Magnamon, sneering down at them. "I'm unsure how you could defend against my attack," he says lowly. "But it will not stand." Tentacles surrounding his body start to writhe and wrap around Enzo and Magnamon, lifting them and slowly squeezing the life out of them, when Buraimon flies up and slices through each appendage like it's made of paper, Arkadimon howling out in anger and agony. Magnamon can barely stand, though this latest brush with death seems to have revived him somewhat, and he stares at Arkadimon, Enzo on his hands and knees next to him, struggling to catch his breath.

Cass and Buraimon join them, defending both of them as Enzo leans against Cass' legs and Buraimon braces Magnamon with a solid shoulder. "Ya may think ya got us beat," Enzo gasps out, staring up at Arkadimon. "But you're wrong. We... we ain't goin' down like this."

Cass nods. "My man Zo's right. You're the one who'll be goin' down." Neither seem that bothered when Arkadimon laughs at them, both all too used to being mocked and underestimated. It was their accents, the way they dressed, the way they looked. No one saw the intelligent, strong, brave men beyond. Enzo and Cass have just exchanged a glance when their digivices go off. Something glowing in the nearby crater attracts their attention and they watch, confused, as it splits into two, one fusing with Enzo's digivice and the other with Cass'. "Wha...?" Cass whispers, staring down at the crest.

But instead of the normal digivolution sequence, Magnamon and Buraimon both fade into two data streams just to mix together and create a different digimon entirely. Buraimon's swords remain but they're covered in gold, as is the new creature's body, as though Magnamon's armor had melted for this exact purpose. A blue cape drifts away from his tall, lean body and he lands heavily with a bellow. "Grademon!"

Enzo and Cass gape at each other, not sure what's going on. "Our partners digivolved... as one? Wha?"

"Jogress evolution," Metalseadramon offers helpfully, examining the creature with a beady eye. "Only digimon with digidestined who are very close can achieve this."

"Wow," Enzo mumbles, getting to his feet with some help from Cass. "Guess this makes us pretty special."

Cass laughs weakly, nodding. "Guess so, Zo."

All they can do is stand around and watch while Arkadimon and Grademon battle. Grademon is fresh and full of energy, still thrumming with power from their digivices, and Arkadimon can't keep up. When he falls, he falls hard and his begging lands on deaf ears as Grademon impales him with the sword, again and again until his data scatters into the wind.

The area is still greatly damaged and the digidestined set in to help where they can before returning to Luke's hideout.

-x

Seth steps forward with a list of the brands for Raw and Smackdown, watching as Luke reads it. "I see," he says finally. "This doesn't really change the teams up much. The only change I see is Miz is now on Dean Ambrose's team."

"What about me?" Heath whines, pulling his sunglasses off and showing his swollen, bloodshot eye to all in attendance.

"Man, put that away," Seth snaps at him before turning back to Luke. "He wasn't drafted by Raw or Smackdown. He's a..." He crinkles his nose up in some disgust. "Free agent? So what does that mean for his being a digidestined?"

Luke stares at Seth. Glances back at Heath. "Well, if he can't get to a digiport with the rest of you, then I guess he'll be an earth bound digidestined."

"Wha-?!" Heath's face falls as he looks down at Lopmon. "Aw dammit!" he whines, kicking at the dirt before turning and stomping off.

Seth _almost_ feels bad for him.


	121. chapter 121

It seems lately the fights have just grown more and more complicated, Alberto thinks grimly. If he had known his career was going to free-fall and he was going to be stuck in this world, surrounded by evil creatures determined to kill him and the others, he perhaps would've swallowed his pride and stay in the indys. Either way, he can't do anything about it right now. The line of digimon before him seem impressive, but in comparison to the monster behind them, well...

He's an IceDevimon variation, obviously, towering over them with large paws and dark red eyes. And when Alberto says large, he means _large._ As in the creature legitimately cannot hold them from the ground for long, dragging them along like an orangutang might. He doesn't need to attack normally, because all he needs to do is swat or drop his large hands on one of them, smashing them, and it'd be lights out for all of them. Enzo and Cass are talking anxiously amongst themselves, Dean listening and offering suggestions here and there, while he, Ryder and Ziggler hover around, waiting for an idea. It's clear fire type digimon would be useful, but none of them are quite there.

"Our best option would be to use Seraphimon," Ambrose mumbles, glancing over at Zack. "Distract IceDevimon, maybe weaken him with Seraphimon's holy powers, and then open him up for Grademon's swords."

Enzo and Cass exchange glances before nodding. Zack is waved over and they relay this to him, so he directs his partner to warp digivolve. As soon as Seraphimon is hovering before them, Icedevimon acts. With a gush of wind that's near deafening, he slams his massive hand down just to be stopped in midswipe- Seraphimon holds him back with a sword made of energy, struggling against his pure weight. This gives Magnamon and Buraimon the time they need to fuse digivolve and fly forward, slashing at him with _their_ swords. He slashes at the digimon but misses, Grademon swooping in for a second try. Slashes form along IceDevimon's wrists and he writhes in pain, still struggling against Seraphimon's defensive ability... just for Grademon to slash again, this time cutting his right hand clean off.

It crashes to the ground with an effect not too different from an earthquake and everyone stops, watching as it shatters into data, fading into the sky. IceDevimon roars and tries to compensate with his only remaining arm, but Grademon is already slashing through it, and he's soon armless, his data streaming away as his body fails without his arms. He roars into the air before Vajaramon rushes forward and impales him with both of his swords, speeding along the deletion process. Upon tearing the weapons free, he watches as IceDevimon collapses forward and pants, losing the less of his strength as his body disappears.

It saves another village. It protects more digimon from unfortunate fates, but Alberto can't care less. He wants to be done with all of this, wants to be able to focus on his own needs and career goals without all of the noise around him.


	122. chapter 122

Enzo Amore takes no nonsense from anyone. So, after tiring quickly of Seth Rollins' mouth, he spits fire at him before remembering that they're in the Digiworld. While his vitriol is fine and mostly welcomed in the wrestling ring, here it could get any number of them killed when a digimon overhears. So he leaves, Cass following him closely. "Can't stand that guy," he mumbles, aware that they can't go _too_ far away, especially with how tumultous things have been in the digiworld.

"Most can't," Cass allows, staying close enough that whenever Enzo shifts the right way, their arms brush. They walk around in silence for awhile, Enzo slowly relaxing as he raps to himself under his breath, enjoying the peace and quiet of being with his best friend and their digimon without the others disturbing them.

"It is kind of nice here," Enzo says, looking around. "When things aren't attacking, at any rate." Cass nods, their arms brushing again, and Enzo drops down on the grass, sprawling out and looking up at the bright, blue sky. "Get down here, big guy. It's an amazing view." It takes Cass a minute to make it down to sit next to him, the two of them taking it in quietly.

Enzo is quieter than he has been in a long time when Cass notices a thudding noise slowly approaching. "Um, Zo," he mumbles.

"Yeah?"

"I think you jinxed the whole thing about us not getting attacked," Cass mumbles. Almost as soon as he says it, a massive digimon covered in crystals appear in front of them, rattling the ground and nearly flipping Enzo over. Cass supports him while Veemon and Hyokomon run between them and the digimon, glaring at the evil creature.

"Sorry, Cass," Enzo mumbles, forcing himself up to his feet to face off against this creature.

"Not your fault," Cass says simply, standing as well and resting a hand on his shoulder. "Digivolve, guys," he orders their partners, keeping a close eye on the snarling creature as he approaches.

Thankfully they have just enough time for both full evolution sequences, Magnamon and Buraimon standing before them with focused looks on their faces. Enzo and Cass exchange glances before stepping back, giving them plenty of room to fight without worry. "Should we have them fuse digivolve?"

"Maybe," Cass responds lowly, but neither make any move to make the suggestion to their partners. The two champion level digimon approach the stronger creature just to stop short when his body glows a fearful, blue color.

"Diamond machine gun!" he roars out, all of the crystals shooting off at once and barreling towards them. Magnamon and Buraimon leap to safety before turning in fear and watching as the weapons drill towards their partners.

"ENZO!" "CASS!" they yell at one.

Enzo moves first, tackling Cass with all of his strength and only just sending him far enough away that the attack misses. This is all the inclination their partners need to digivolve together, forming into Grademon. Blastmon tries to roll into a ball and smash the newly evolved digimon into the ground, but Grademon reflects him with his swords and then stabs one straight through his remaining crystals, shattering them again and again as he impales him repeatedly. Enzo and Cass gape from the ground while Grademon takes him apart piece by piece. There's little Blastmon can do about it, weakening steadily with each loss of his crystals.

Finally he shatters into pieces and Enzo and Cass look at each other, exhaling sharply. "Ya alright, big man?" Enzo asks. Cass nods, nudging him until he gets up and holds a hand out, helping Cass to lever himself back up to his feet. "Maybe next time I'll just suck it up and accept whatever Rollins is runnin' his mouth about," he sighs as they trudge back towards the others.

"Sounds like a good idea," Cass says agreeably, their partners resting on their shoulders upon dedigivolving back to Veemon and Hyokomon.


	123. chapter 123

"I don't know why I'm doing this," Zack sighs.

"Because I'm tired from all of that Denny's food and you offered to give me a piggy back ride after the trip through the portal made me a little sick?" Dolph reminds him with his best grin, Zack looking unimpressed as he hoists Dolph higher up on his back, linking his fingers around Dolph's thighs.

Patamon and Impmon exchange glances, Patamon giggling to himself as Impmon huffs at their partners. The four of them have split from the others to try to sweep the area for any potential problems faster, Dolph immediately wheedling until Zack had offered the piggy back ride so they could just get the show on the road.

All humor leaves them when they hear a solid thud against the ground, Zack immediately standing up straighter and looking ahead, both digimon freezing. "What was that?" he asks, moving so Dolph can hop back down on the ground easier. Dolph barely plants his feet on the ground when there's another heavy footstep, rattling them even worse. Patamon immediately digivolves but he's just barely floated in front of Zack when a massive beam of fire eats through him, sending him flying backwards and returning to his Patamon form.

"Patamon!" Zack cries out, running towards him- just to get caught halfway across and thrown up and back by what looks like an arm bone. Dolph struggles to figure out where he should focus first- Zack or on the approaching enemy when Impmon rushes forward and digivolves, trying to distract the skeleton creature approaching them. "Wha- what is that?" Zack chokes out, just barely conscious a few feet away from where Dolph is standing. His dark eyes are staring forward, and Dolph kneels by him, following his gaze.

"Skull Greymon," Patamon keens, barely able to keep his eyes open. "He... he... Wizardmon, you need to digivolve further, you can't... you can't fight him like this..."

Wizardmon seems to know this but it's difficult to find an opportunity especially when he's fighting alone. Dolph is aware of this and lunges up, chasing towards Skull Greymon, ignoring both Zack and Wizardmon's protests as he races across the grass. Skull Greymon laughs mouthily at him before swiping out, slicing him across the middle and throwing him opposite of where Zack is sprawled weakly. Wizardmon then takes the chance, fueled by worry and determination to save his partner and his best friend. "Wizardmon warp digivolve to..." The flashes of energy and light are blinding and actually quells Skull Greymon long enough for Wizardmon to achieve mega level, Beelzebumon immediately aiming his guns at the skeleton digimon. "You didn't think I'd figure out a way?" he wonders, baring his teeth and smirking at th frozen creature.

He races forward and finally Skull Greymon reacts and slams his hand up, scraping along Beelzebumon's armor, trying to find a weak point. What he's not expecting is Beelzebumon's speed, claws scraping between his bones trying to find his innards... and finally succeeds, aiming his gun in the place his every instinct is pushing him towards. "Heartbreak shot!" he declares, his bullets ripping holes through Skull Greymon's chest, destroying him almost immediately upon his heart's destruction.

As soon as he's gone, Zack crawls painfully towards Dolph and half blankets his body with his own. "Bro," he hisses out. "Bro..."

"I'm here," Dolph mumbles wearily, hand resting against Zack's hair. "Are you ok?"

"I think so." They lay tangled up like that until finally some strength returns to them and slowly they help each other to their feet and drag towards the digiport, eager to get back to the others and go home. "If only there was a third person here to give us both piggy back rides."

Dolph's laugh makes it all worth it for Zack.


	124. chapter 124

It's hard not being employed. Putting aside the nonsense about his children and the pool and possible head injuries and whatever else, wrestling is in Heath Slater's blood. It's been his passion for well over a decade by now. Even when he'd get his ass kicked, there was enough of a thrill to it, each rare win fueling him on, that he could've never imaged leaving it behind.

Until the night of the draft, when he'd been left in the dark, all alone and angry. Which means he's also not a Digidestined anymore, or at least not an active one. He still has his digivice, he still has Lopmon, but he can't access a digiport easily, he can't leave with the others. So he's stuck on earth while they go and save both of the worlds. Or so he thinks, anyway, until Summerslam weekend happens and he's sitting outside of the arena hosting NXT Takeover, listening to the crowd cheer and boo, yell out their displeasure and happiness with this occurrence or that one. It eases a little of his agonized thoughts at still not getting a serviceable contract to either Raw or Smackdown, knowing that at least somewhere, fans are enjoying themselves.

His thoughts quickly divulge again, however, when his digivice goes off. It's The Miz, of all people, and he grimaces, staring at the glitchy hologram of the egotistical man coming from his device. "Hullo?"

"Slater, you have to listen to me, it's coming to earth and it's bad and we can't do anything to stop it. We're going to send you as much data as we can to help you digivolve in the real world, It's all up to you, we're all toast back here- you need to-" After a beam of pure energy strikes his digivice, Mike's voice cuts out, comes back faintly for a minute saying something about Lopmon before fading into pure static, the image lost. Heath stares at the blank space before looking back at the arena, suddenly frightened. He gets Lopmon out and urges him quietly to digivolve, hands clenching into fists as he stands and waits for some sign of what had Miz so damn freaked out.

Moosemon is far from inconspicous, of course, but he keeps to the shadows and waits with Heath, who is growing worried that perhaps they need to evolve further, but not sure they can here, how much power they have left. Finally he urges his partner on and watches as Mammothmon forms before him, Heath breathing a little easier at the dominating shadow of his partner. Still, this is worrisome too because if someone should notice, if someone should alert the police... but that quickly fails to matter as there's an explosion behind Heath and his eyes bug out as he slowly turns to find an awful looking Digimon plowing through a local business.

The winged dragon hybrid who looks a little like a Greymon roars, people quickly responding to this noise and either screaming or, for the more brave/stupid ones, approaching to figure out what that was. By the time they get close enough to see, they freeze in place and Heath swallows as the pedestrians make what is already an impossible situation even worse. "Go," he orders Mammothmon tensely and, while his partner tries to distract the evil digimon who had somehow cut into earth, Heath tries to round up the people and get them to safety, his words not enough to break through the haze they're all in. It's only when he realizes that a metallic claw is approaching the crowd does he move, diving forward and grabbing a little girl close to the forefront of it all, pushing her out of the way.

The pain that follows is mind-numbing, awful, and he screams gutturally, sure that he's about to die right here, still hearing the audience inside of the building a few feet away. He gags and struggles not to throw up as blood pools under him from a slice along his lower abdomen. A grazing blow, yes, but a fatally deep one. Scrabbling in the dirt and blood, Heath finds his digivice and lifts it up, blood smearing over the glass as he stares at it vacantly, then over at Mammothmon. "Gotta do it, man. You gotta digivolve to Mega. I know you ain't done it before, but... we gotta save these people." He's sweaty, he's breathless, he's dying, but all he can think about is the poor little girl a few feet away, staring at him with red rimmed eyes, hugging a teddy bear for all she's worth. Her parents are probably in this crowd, and he can't think about another family getting separated. About his own kids about to be fatherless.

Where the energy comes from, he's not sure, his vision is wavering and spotted as Mammothmon digivolves to sleek, winged, beautiful Duftmon, skin bronzed and hair blond, a sword held in one hand. He's much smaller than Megadramon, but something about the digivolution and seeing his partner dying gives him the strength to fight, and to win. It Heath it feels like a lifetime as more blood pours from his side but Duftmon parries his claw with his sword and lifts it up, yelling something into the night before swinging his sword, painting an arc of something into the air which then solidifies and slams straight into Megadramon, deleting him instantaneously. Immediately, Duftmon flies over and lays a hand on Heath's shoulder, lips moving but no sounds reaching Heath's ears.

Everything goes dark.

-x

It is most certainly not a hospital Heath wakes up in, it's quiet and calm and he thinks he recognizes the smell of the blanket spread over him. "Wade?" he mumbles, opening his eyes wearily.

"Well, look who's back in the world of the living," Wade says blandly, resting a hand on Heath's arm when he begins to struggle to sit up. "No, stay still. You almost bloody died yesterday. Let me look at you first." His hand is warm, gentle, against Heath's skin and Heath leans into it more than he'd ever be willing to admit. "Seems you're going to make it," Wade sighs softly, settling down next to him and preparing a plate full of something that smells really good.

When he starts to _feed_ Heath, Heath's about to protest vehemently, but he can barely lift his arm and he realizes he's never felt so weak before in all of his life. "Wha' happened?" he manages to get out before Wade can push another bite on him.

"You almost bled out when a digimon broke through the data stream and entered the real world," Wade mumbles, his dark blue eyes locked on the spoon he's using to push vegetables into Heath's mouth. "He was... somethin', some sort of altered digimon, could do that kind of thing. Altered the stream so no one else could come through, and sensed Mammothmon and attacked but you were trying to save people and he sliced you up really good."

Heath exhales, his hand sprawling out where Wade's had just been, feeling the bandages and stitches there. "I was bleeding out," he reiterates to himself. "How the hell did I survive long enough to get here?"

Wade looks strange as he shifts uncomfortably. "I sensed something was wrong, I had Lunamon digivolve and go to you. Shakamon ended up teleporting us both to your side, and then proceeded to shield you until the others came. Shakamon also erased the crowd's memories so they won't remember a moment of what they saw."

"How was I healed?" Heath murmurs, feeling a little stronger now after Wade helps him to drink down almost half of a glass of water.

"I was pacing around, I was afraid," he admits. "Even in the shield, you were still bleeding. I could see it, I could smell it. Then I just... I was fed up and I walked over and through the shield like it was nothing, and kneeled by you. My digivice was in the hand I was trying to use to slow the bleeding down with and the next thing I knew, this bright light shone from it and began to stitch your wound up. By the time the others arrived, you were breathing better and had started to gain some color back, so we brought you here."

"You saved my life twice," Heath murmurs, startled by this realization. His teeth flash as he grins and reaches over, hugging Wade as best as he can. "Guess even though you're not workin' for the WWE anymore, you still got my back."

Wade sighs, patting his back. "Always."


	125. chapter 125

"Heath Slater?" Mike repeats incredulously. "You mean _the_ Heath Slater? Ginger, kind of obnoxious? He saved the entire world on his own?"

"Yeah, something like that," Seth intones, also seemingly disbelieving of it all. "It was weird, but I can't prove that he's lying because we were able to get back to earth, and no one was hurt or otherwise harmed, so I guess he really did it."

"What a strange world we live in," Mike sighs, glancing down at Monodramon as they wander further into the woods, looking for the cause of the beacon flashing on their maps. "Sense anything?" When his partner shakes his head, Mike mutters under his breath and casts another quick glance around at the trees surrounding them. Kevin, Alicia, Enzo and Cass are somewhere ahead of them, just visible between the foliage, but neither seem that concerned with being separated from them. "I am just not seeing a damn thi-"

His words die when Betamon is swatted away like a baseball, pinging off of a couple of trees before landing hard on the ground, Seth immediately racing forward and resting a hand on his back and looking around, eyebrows furrowed angrily. "Who's the coward who did that? Huh?!"

"He's ultimate," Mike says, turning to Monodramon. "Go. Cyberdramon." His partner nods, immediately hitting that level of power before sweeping up into the trees. It's obvious when he finds his mark because a brawl breaks out above them, leaves and branches raining down onto them. Once they fall to the ground, Mike gets a good look at Etemon, a humanoid type ape creature, with some fierce looking muscles and a sneer that would put most wrestlers to shame.

Cyberdramon doesn't get a chance to use his flashier moves because Etemon keeps punching and kicking, kneeing him anywhere he can reach. Even when he succeeds at hitting him with a good slash from his claw, Etemon rebounds and hits him harder in the head with his knee, knocking Cyberdramon back and leaving him vulnerable to further attack. Mike bites his lip and curls his hands into fists. "Come on, Cyberdramon!" he yells, gaining Etemon's attention.

"Miz," Seth says warningly, Betamon still unconscious in his arms. The others are far out of sight by now, none noticing the fight going on a good mile back. " _Mike,"_ but Miz ignores him, wide blue eyes locked on Etemon as he knees Cyberdramon in the face and turns back towards Mike, teeth flashing in the sun.

"Digidestined," he says slowly, as if testing the word on his tongue. "Fascinating." He looks him up and down. "You are a wrestler." Mike bristles at the disdain in his tone, standing up and waiting impatiently for his to do, say something further. Instead, Etemon merely laughs at him before racing forward, sliding and striking Mike hard in the face with a fist.

Mike staggers, hits the ground and stares up at the sky, dazed as blood trickles down his chin.

"Mike!" someone is yelling overhead but he can't move, can't respond. He thinks Seth is scrambling, trying to do something, but there's no breaking the darkness he's currently drowning in. He can barely breathe through the blood filling his nose and mouth... until he does, and he is, gasping in pure oxygen.

"Mike," says a familiar voice over his head and he looks up incredulously. Shakamon stands over him, a patient look on his face. "It's time. You know it is, yes? You need more power, you need to embrace the Light inside of you." Leaning down, he rests a hand on Mike's back and pinpoints the power within him, feeling it curl and expand at his touch. "You need to wake up."

He sits up in reality with a gasp, scaring Seth and causing him to scramble back, eyes wide. "What- what's wrong with your eyes?" he chokes out, staring at Mike in fear.

"What do you mean?" he asks, still dazed from the blow, from his interaction with Shakamon. "Wha-"

"They're like, really bright blue, like... lit by something..." Seth's voice fades, dies entirely as Mike grabs his digivice and it immediately starts to glow, the crest within vibrating with the force of the energy surging through his fingers.

Etemon's advancement is stopped immediately as Cyberdramon glows with a brilliant beam of energy, his body stripping apart just to reform as Justimon. The sleek creature covered in silver armor lunges forward, starting to brawl with Etemon and taking him out easily, pinning him to the ground as his cape whips around in the blustery wind. "Finish it," Mike tells him quietly and, despite how far away they are, Justimon hears him easily. He smashes Etemon's body with his arm and holds it in place until he dissolves into data, fading into the wind.

As Justimon gets to his feet, the light surrounding Mike's body fades away and he exhales, watching his partner before collapsing to his knees, the pain in his face re-introducing itself. "Ow," he mumbles, Seth's hand warm on his shoulder. "I'm fine. Just need a minute."

"Sure, man. Whatever you say, just don't look at me with those crazy lite-brite eyes, and we're good."

Mike laughs brokenly and looks up at him. "Sometimes I think we could almost be friends, Rollins, if you weren't such an annoying kiss-up," he says, smirking as Seth makes a face at him.

"When you get up, we'll find the others and go get your face looked at."

Mike nods, grimacing as he remembers. The moneymaker... He sighs and rubs at the blood caked along his chin, not that surprised to find that the pain is fading. "I think it's more residual pain now, I'm not bleeding anymore. That... I think Shakamon healed me."

Seth hesitates. "Shakamon?"

Mike nods, not bothering to explain any further. "Let's go before the others find some way to get into trouble." Pulling himself up, he examines Justimon for a minute, taking in his ripped body and the armor, the red scarf, and everything else. "Alright. You'd better dedigivolve, reserve some strength."

Justimon nods and does so, his body gleaming as he returns to Monodramon. "I wasn't sure I'd ever reach that level of power," he admits softly, staring at Mike.

Mike smirks at him. "Stick with me, kid, I'll take you to heights you'd never imagine before."

Seth groans, walking faster to escape both of them, and both Mike and Monodramon laugh at him as they follow.


	126. GigaSedramon

"It's all over the news!"

"But how did this happen?"

"They're not supposed to make it into our world!"

"I know, but _look!_ "

"I'm looking, I'm looking!" The conversation that's been on-going for ten minutes is hushed, not that there's anyone around to see them. "How is this possible?" Seth Rollins demands, pacing around the hotel lobby.

"Oh God, oh man, this is bad," Heath Slater hisses out through his nose.

"What the hell are we going to do, bro?" Zack Ryder asks, still staring at the TV wide eyed. Alicia Fox, Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett and The Miz are circling him, each frozen as they watch on too. Media is trained on the west coast, watching as a shiny, metallic sea creature writhes around in the ocean, traveling quickly from Florida up towards New England, going at a ridiculous clip that even has the news reporters speechless. WWE live events being held in Boston this week, they're clearly in the line of fire. But also means they could do something to stop it... maybe...

"We're not strong enough to deal with this," Seth mumbles, staring down at his digivice. "We're not... we can't... The media will pick this up if we try anything, our lives will be ruined..."

"What about their lives?" Dolph speaks up, pointing at the screen where wide camera views of a decimated Florida is shown, streets wiped out by floods, houses and businesses damaged by GigaSeadramon's missiles fill the screen, leaving Alicia in tears. "We can't let this stand, Rollins. You may be a bastard, but even _you_ know that! I'm not sure how a digimon ended up on our turf, but we can't let him stay here!"

Seth hisses out a breath and presses a button on his digivice, releasing Betamon. "Can you fight here? Can you digivolve on my planet? I don't know how this works."

"I'm not sure either," his partner says. "But I can try." Seth nods his permission and within a blink of an eye, Seadramon is sprawled out before them, blinking beadily at them. "That answers that," he sighs, wrapping his tail around Seth and lifting him up, plopping him down on his back. "Let's go stop that creature defiling my digivolution line."

Within five minutes, the group is there, the land-based digimon trolling the all but abandoned beach they'd selected, the sea creatures swimming around, waiting and watching for their approaching opponent. Seadramon had evolved further to Megaseadramon, needing that little extra bit of strength, the other digimon morphing into their champion forms to try to back him up. Some flying, some watching from the ground, they think- hope- that they have every avenue covered... when there's a loud roar and a missile flies over the digidestined's heads, impacting with the ground and sending sand and silt all over the place.

"Oh God," Alicia cries out, thrown to her knees by the force of the blast. Kiwimon tries to support her as she gets her bearings once more, looking up in horrified awe of the creature leering down at them, clearly readying another attack when MegaSeadramon lunges forward and bites into his slippery side, pulling him away from the beach and sending him thrashing into the water. They fight, tails and teeth flashing in the blinding sunlight, Seth watching on in horror as his partner struggles to regain the upperhand.

"Come on, MegaSeadramon!" he yells, his voice shaky. "You can do it!" Another missile is thrown in their direction and only the quick thinking of Strikedramon saves them as he shields them with his metallic body, immediately dedigivolving to Monodramon, sprawled out on the ground and struggling to breathe.

MegaSeadramon sends a beam of electricity at GigaSeadramon and barely phases him, his entire stance changing. "I can't do it at this level," the ultimate digimon cries out. "I need to be stronger, but how?"

Seth, gripping his digivice, is wondering the same thing. It had been a struggle just to get him up to MegaSeadramon with the limited power offered around here. Going a level further, when they aren't very knowledgeable of such things... He's not sure it's possible. "I can't... I don't know... how..."

The others are behind him, and he feels their gaze on him, adding to his failure of confidence. "I know, ok?! I'm screwing this all up, I can't do anything- I'm worthless..." He's gritting his teeth against the angry tears filling his eyes and he's just turned at them to scream for them to shut up, take their judgments and see if they can do any better, when he realizes that they're all holding their digivices out, staring at him.

"Take our power," Alicia tells him kindly. "Maybe we can help."

Seth stares at them in disbelief that, after everything, they would be willing to help him. "Rea- really?" he whispers. Nods shakily and holds his digivice out when no one refuses him, closing his eyes as power pours from their digivice to his own, the power making his grip hard to maintain. When he turns towards MegaSeadramon, their eyes lock. "Go, go," he chokes out, watching as his partner glows with an impressive amount of energy.

MegaSeadramon's body fades, drifts, and then reforms into MetalSeadramon, GigaSeadramon throwing his head around dismissively. "You weak fool," he hisses before lunging forward, the two sea creatures snapping and biting at each other. Their bodies writhe around in the water, fighting up into the sky before splashing back down into the sea, drenching all of the digidestined.

MetalSeadramon blasts energy at GigaSeadramon just to arch away as missiles are shot out of his cannon, impacting with the edge of the sea and sending sand and silt all over. "No!" he chokes out, desperate to avoid more trauma to this planet. Lunging forward, he bites as deep into GigaSeadramon's enforced side as he could, wrapping his tail around him and constricting as quickly as he could, trying to tear him apart. He pays for this forced closeness however, as GigaSeadramon blasts him with missiles, his vision wavering as he sinks down below the depths.

"METALSEADRAMON!" Seth cries out from shore, hissing and falling back as GigaSeadramon's gaze falls upon him, upon the others. His grip on his digivice only tightens as the evil digimon leers down at him, the power from the others still thrumming against his hand. "Please, please-" It bursts out suddenly, a pure stream of golden light that bursts through GigaSeadramon, tearing a hole through his serpeant like body before slicing through the water and meeting with MetalSeadramon, re-invigorating him as he shakes off the pain and goes up to the top, finding GigaSeadramon already weakened. Shaking his head, he focuses on GigaSeadramon and shoots off another beam of energy that strikes his wound perfectly, sending data all over as it widens and deepens, draining him of energy as he sits there in the water, dazed.

There's nothing he can do to stop MetalSeadramon's attack and they all watch, holding their breath, as he deletes slowly before their very eyes, a mournful, pained kind of garbling roar coming from him before his mouth disappears as well.

_It's over._ Seth sinks down to his knees and stares at his hands, the digivice still cradled in his palms, until Betamon joins him, weak but accomplished. "I'm so proud of you," he tells his partner, hugging him.

Betamon beams up at him. "I couldn't have done it without you."

There's still a terrible amount of damage from GigaSeadramon's warpath, and an even larger amount of frightened people surrounding them, media demanding questions, but for now, Seth feels like he can breathe again. _We saved earth,_ he thinks. It's a giddy, sobering thought that re-enforces just how much rides on them every time they battle, either here or in the digiworld. Closing his eyes, he exhales and decides just to enjoy this moment of peace before responsibility once more infringes on everything.


	127. chapter 127

The draft had made things more complicated, in a way. Even though Seth's annoying on a good day, and Roman has steadily been pushing him away for months, Dean doesn't like being separated from his Shield brethern. He exhales and stuffs his hands in his pockets, grimacing. Smackdown is a cesspool of people who either hate him or want what he has, or both. Ziggler, Styles, everyone chomping at the bit to be tag champ, or IC champ, or something else. The Usos are there, sure, but they prefer to show some loyalty to their cousin too so conversation with them is stilted and awkward too, like a year back the four of them weren't claiming to be _family._ Not that Dean has a good history with family, anyway.

He exhales, blue eyes troubled as he scopes out the group of wrestlers ahead of him. Ziggler is there, of course, and Zack. Heath Slater is trudging along behind them since he's now part of the tag team tourney and has access to a digiport with the rest of them. Miz is somewhere in the distance, not wanting to be seen with any of the average people behind him, lost in his own little world with Monodramon. Alberto Del Rio had left the WWE again, so he is once more an earth-bound digidestined with Ricardo, Punk, AJ and Wade. Dean sighs as he looks at the group of people, feeling uneasy about it all. He doubts Seth has these kinds of doubts, leading the Raw team, but leading the Shield had been one thing- money and power, that's all they were trying to get. Leading the Digidestined is harder, the fate of two worlds resting on his shoulders.

He shakes his head, hating this pressure even while he revels in being trusted enough for such a role, when something dark presses against his consciousness, digging in with sharp claws and not letting go. He stares into hundreds of eyes, feeling abruptly separated from the world before him. "What are you?" he asks, his voice muffled, far away to his own ears. The creature, for lack of a better word, is wispy black and bright red eyes, drilling into his soul, and he can't move as he looks at it. "You understand me, don't you?"

These words are swallowed down by a writhing kind of pain that leaves him screaming, his fingers clawing at his eyes as he tries to stop it, escape it. "Please, please," he pleads thoughtlessly, and then... then it disappears. _He_ disappears, taken over by this creature. It's a numbing kind of darkness that he wants out of but can't find the strength to fight. He can still see, even if everything feels muffled and distance. Miz, Ziggler, Zack, Heath and their digimon are all surrounding him and he struggles not to completely drown in the darkness when something happens- he senses someone behind him and the digimon turns, allowing Dean to see.

The other digidestined are there- Seth, Enzo, Cass, Owens, Alicia. The men look disturbed and Alicia has covered her mouth with her hand and he wonders what he must look like, but then words are coming out in his voice- though not from his mouth, not willingly. "Kill Me," he whispers, realizing belatedly that it's an attack summon as power flows through his overtaken body, and Seth's face blanches, then darkens as multitudes of digimon come from all sides, fighting with both Raw and Smackdown digidestined. Otamamon is somewhere nearby, he can hear him yelling, but the words fail to register with him as he watches Seth and Betamon fighting off the creatures trying to kill them.

None of the digimon are overly strong, one digivolution later and most are blown away but still... Dean has a deep sense of foreboding, like things could easily get worse before they get better, especially with the others so inundated with digimon desperately attacking. This all crashes down around him, however, when Seth dives- avoids some slashing Tyrannomon just barely- and tackles whatever Dean's become. He's breathing funny, staring into... what of Dean he can still see, teeth gritted and eyes aflame with something Dean only just recognizes, somehow. "Let him go, you bastard," he snaps, all but shaking the creature and Dean thinks if he was in full control of his faculties, he'd laugh. "Now!"

Dean is overwhelmed by a sudden fondness for the asshole sprawling atop him, the two of them locked forever in a cycle of friendship or hatred or both, somehow not entirely unlike Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, but here they are, surrounded by dozens of murderous Digimon and Seth had foregone all of it to try to rescue him. The pain that surrounds this thought is mindnumbing and Seth suddenly looks panicked, like he thinks he's killing Dean or something, but then the pain fades and Dean's left in a quiet, calm, beautiful place unlike the empty, hollow world he had been in just seconds earlier. Whatever's happened, it sends Seth scrambling back, his eyes wide as the digimon targetting the various wrestlers and their partners freeze, confused, and then scamper away back to their own lives.

"You've freed me," Dean's voice speaks again. Lighter this time, more peaceful. "I am not surrounded by darkness anymore. I am myself once more. Thank you, human."

Seth licks his lips, looking up into Dean's eyes and, for a minute, it's clear his calculating nature is being used in Dean's favor. "Can we have Dean Ambrose back then?"

The creature inhabiting his body says nothing for a long moment and then Dean feels this sharp tearing sensation deep at his core as he's freed. The pain is blinding and he collapses to his knees, but there's a soft hand at the base of his neck and he leans into the touch, a soft female voice whispering into his ear, "You realized you weren't as alone as you assumed and it gave me the strength to fight the evilness that had overwhelmed me. Thank you for that."

He looks up just long enough to see the creature, a white wisp of a thing with a pink lower body and a white face, a halo floating over her head. "Luminamon," he whispers the name that comes to him, her face beaming even brighter until she disappears with a streak of light across the pure blue sky overhead. He watches her go, wavering on his knees, before he falls forward, body taxed beyond its own abilities. He's out before he hits the ground.

It feels like a lifetime and like a blink of an eye when he finally comes to again, Dean's head cushioned by something familiar but different all at once. "...wakes up, I'll get him home," Seth's voice says nearby. "You don't have to stay, I won't attack him or anything." He sounds strangely tired, worn ragged, and Dean wants to open his eyes and see what the hell has his former brother sounding like that, but he's so comfortable, he can't be bothered to. It takes a minute before he realizes that the soft pressure on his scalp are fingers running through his hair and this does make him stir, surprised to find himself sprawled across Seth's lap, his fingers running through Dean's hair distractedly as he talks to the others scattered around.

Alicia reailzes he's awake first and kneels down, smiling soothingly at him. "Look who's awake." Instantly the fingers leave Dean's hair and he _almost_ hates Alicia at this moment. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been trapped in a massive tug'o'war between light and dark," he mumbles, his voice hoarse and parched. There's a scramble and then a bottle of water is pressed against his lips, Seth and Alicia working together to support his head as he drinks. He feels moderately better once he's drank a fair amount of it, resting his head back against Seth's thigh. "Thanks," he mumbles, not sure what exactly his gratitude encompasses, but just absorbing the moment. How normal this all feels, Seth's fingers on his head, the warmth of his legs, how solid he feels against him.

The others eventually drift away and Dean closes his eyes, listening to Seth breathe. "You shoulda seen it, man," he mumbles. "First you were just... wrapped up in this darkness thing, like, there were eyes all around you, and then... once the fighting started and I tackled you, it just... was absorbed by this blinding light and you were surrounded by wings. I've seen some weird things in the digiworld, but that definitely tops the list, I'm sure."

Dean chuckles wearily. "You should've been on this side of it." They sit there for a few moments before Dean exhales, leaning once more into Seth's solid warmth. "I'm glad you weren't though."


	128. chapter 128

Zack is still hurting after Backlash. Hell, they all are, except for Heath, who is whistling joyfully as they continue on. That is, until Ambrose yells at him to shut up, to not risk alerting the digimon they're trying to face off against of their presence. Heath does quiet down, for the most part, but he's still grinning happily at finally getting his Smackdown contract.

Zack is walking through the village that they'd been led to, Patamon by his side, when the digimon goes very still and quiet, trying to focus on something. "What is it?" he asks his partner, brow furrowing as wide blue eyes look left to right.

"I sensed something... darkness... I can't..." He turns in a circle, trying to pinpoint what exactly he's sensing but it's impossible to spot from this vantage. Patamon looks helplessly at Zack when, suddenly, claws slash against his side, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Patamon!" Zack cries, rushing to scoop up the vulnerable digimon... just to receive a deep slash across his hand and then up his arm, causing him to scream out in pain. "Impmon," he chokes out, scandalized, as he looks up at Dolph's partner. "W- why..." Then he realizes that Impmon's eyes are bright red, glaring down at him... and then Dolph walks out, eyes gleaming in the same fashion. "What happened to you?" he chokes out, digging the fingers of his good hand into the dirt.

"I did," a dark, deep voice responds, scaring Zack and nearly sending him face down into the dirt as he tries to find the source. Once he does, he wishes he hadn't, looking up at the digimon with an armored body and weird red eyes on his chest, drill-like spears at the end of each wrist. "He seemed so weak, I figured I would help him out."

"He's not weak," Zack groans, trying to ignore how weak he's feeling as more blood drips down his arm. This only gets worse when Dolph walks up and stomps on his hand, Zack screaming out anew as his fingers throb under his heel. "Bro, bro-" he pants. "Please... _please..._ "

The others hear his screams and come running but the digimon holds them back while waving his arms, allowing Dolph to damage Zack even further. "Look but don't touch," he taunts them with a smirk, stabbing at Monodramon and Otamamon gleefully. In the end, Duftmon saves the day- another boon to Heath's mood- by gracefully slipping past the creature and tackling Dolph away, scooping Zack up and taking him to safety.

Settling Zack down carefully by Dean and the others, Duftmon flies back off to try to help Patamon, maybe see what he can do about Impmon and the actions of Skull Knightmon, who he only just recognizes from old reports he'd heard as a younger digimon. Ignoring Dolph and Impmon now, he flies towards Skull Knightmon and parries swords with him, trying to slice through his wrists. This failing, he flies back, then forward again, stabbing his sword up and through, sending explosive energy against Skull Knightmon's armor. It rocks him, sends him flying back, but before Duftmon could respond, bullets bore into his flesh and send him down as he looks up in agony at Beelzebumon, Dolph clearly taking opportunity of his distraction to digivolve Impmon. "No," he groans. Lifting a weak hand, he aims his sword once more and listens more than watches as the energy impacts, exploding against Beelzebumon's side.

Beelzebumon roars and falls back, gripping his side as data streams out, finally giving up and dedigivolving into a small purple blob with black eyes that releases a faint little whine before collapsing onto its side, utterly useless now. Heath is yelling support at Duftmon, who struggles back to his feet and aims his sword at Skull Knightmon once more, trying to pierce it again... when Justimon joins them and, together, the two mega level digimon attack. Justimon sends his cutter type arm slicing down and Duftmon slices up, the two of them trapping Skull Knightmon between them. He laughs, blocking both attack, but just when he thinks he has it, a sharp cry digs through him, leaving him sad and unable to fight... allowing Duftmon's sword to impale him as Justimon's arm slices clean through the other side. He cries out and tries to attack one last time, shaking off the pain and diving at Zack and Patamon with his arms outstretched, weapons gleaming in the sunlight.

He's almost there when swords stab into him from above, pinning him to the ground and keeping him from moving as he fades away into data. As soon as he's gone, Dolph regains consciousness and looks around in fear before spotting Zack. "No, no, I thought... I thought it was a dream," he chokes out, scrambling forward and grabbing Zack's hand, ignoring Heath as he tries to wrap the wounds with strips from his shirt. "I'm so sorry, kid. I'm so damn sorry."

"This should hold till we get 'im home, get 'im checked out properly," Heath exhales, tightening the fabric and cringing as Zack screams out in pain, curling in on himself despite Dolph's best efforts to hold him.

"I'm ok," Zack pants, sweaty and pale. "Ow. I'm fine," he repeats, seeing the guilt in Dolph's eyes.

Once they're all back on their feet, Dolph hugs him. "I'm so sorry," he murmurs. "I couldn't stop myself. It was just... unending."

"I know," Zack sighs, hugging him back with his good arm. "Don't worry about it, this shit just seems to happen here a lot."

Dolph chuckles sadly. "This is true. Come on, let's get you home and checked out."

Zack nods and allows himself to be led out, the others all trickling after them. No one notices the dark eyes following their progress from behind some nearby bushes near the village they'd just been inside.


	129. chapter 129

Alicia exhales, stretching out her back and trying not to think too much about the twinge of pain she's feeling from Nia Jax's attack the week prior. _Better than before, that's the important thing,_ she decides, smiling down at Palmon. "Ready to go?" Her partner nods and together they step forward to catch up with the others who had continued on, though still in sight. Alicia chuckles as she grips Palmon's hand and skips with her, relieved that it seems to help her back stretch out even further.

They've almost reached them when something explodes at Alicia's feet and sends her down, the girl crying out as her back spasms anew. "Alicia!" Palmon cries, the others turning to look. They try to move into action when a dragon shaped creature comes out of nowhere, slamming through them, sending them flying before hitting the ground in front of Alicia and easing into a white armored humanoid with purple wings, staring down at them.

"I am a knight, after all," he says. "I will allow the lady the opportunity to digivolve before I attempt an attack."

"How kind of you," Alicia whimpers, struggling up to lean against her elbows. "Palmon," she beckons, clinging to her digivice.

"Got it." Palmon exhales as she's stripped into data and grows into Lotusmon, a sweet scent filling the late afternoon sky as Alicia struggles to get to her feet. Her partner joins her and pulls her up before facing off once more with the evil digimon. "Dynasmon," she says lowly. "Your cheap attempt at being chivalrous will be your doom." He laughs until she waves her staff at him, a bright colorful beam washing over him and sending him back a few inches.

Unfortunately, he recovers quickly and shoots his own energy attacks at her, sending her flying away to avoid. Alicia gnaws on her cheek as she watches, desperate to go check on the other unmoving digidestined but she's too sore and scared to move, forced to remain and watch as Lotusmon and Dynasmon fight, warily flying around each other and taking shots at every opportunity. "Come on, come on," she pleads, finally finding the strength and courage to inch past them and kneel down next to Seth. She can just see Enzo and Cass from here, Cass half-sprawled across Enzo like he had tried to save him at the last possible second, and Owens is a few feet away, but none of them are moving. She rests her hand on Seth's arm and waits, hoping for some reaction, but getting none. "Dammit, you guys have to be ok," she breathes out.

Dynasmon roars as Lotusmon gets a good hit in with energy from her caduceus, the dark glow suffusing along his body. She laughs at him before something in the wind changes, grows dangerous, and Lotusmon screams out, "Alicia, move!" Her partner clearly doesn't understand, gaping at her in confusion as she looks helplessly at the other wrestlers and their partners scattered in front of her, and Lotusmon cries out, flying between them and Dynasmon, spinning her caduceus once more and sending a beam of pure energy towards the downed group, gritting her teeth and holding on until they start to stir.

Alicia thinks things _might_ be ok when there's a flash of light behind her, an intense burst of heat against her back, and then everything goes dark.

Lotusmon struggles to stay upright, Dynasmon laughing at her as they stare out over the destruction before them. "What have you done?" she chokes out, gripping her arm as data streams from it. "What have... what have you done... ALICIA!" He continues to laugh at her until she finds her caduceus in the rubble, pulling it up and aiming it at him. "Serpent RUIN!" she screams.

He chuckles. "You've tried that before, my dear," he's just said when he realizes that she's not releasing the attack as soon as she did prior, instead letting it build up as her hand shakes at the pressure of containing it. "You will kill yourself!" he exclaims, for once worried about her actions.

"Worth it if it kills you," she chokes out, raising the staff high and thrusting it forward, releasing the energy and allowing it to strike him, the abrupt loss of energy sending her crashing to the ground as her wings lose all strength, watching him slowly delete from the brutal attack.

"Do you still think so?" he asks, watching with a sneer as she glows dimly, her form failing as she crumbles further. He laughs. "Your partner is dead as well, so I suppose it doesn't matter." His final ugly words as he fades away entirely, Lotusmon's tears drifting away and mingling with his data as she disappears too.

Lost in a mountain of rubble, Alicia scrambles to get free, spitting out dust and dirt from the explosion she'd been caught in. Her body hurts, her entire essence hurts, but as she gets up, she spots the others and grabs Seth and Enzo, watching Cass and Owens struggling to come to. "Guys, guys!"

"m'ok," Enzo slurs out as Cass crawls to him.

"So'm I," Seth offers dazedly, wiping some blood from his forehead. Their partners are coming back to consciousness as well, re-joining them, and Alicia chokes as she remembers.

"LOTUSMON!" she cries, scrambling back down the uneven piles of rubble, looking for her partner. Tears drip down her face, making it hard to see, but when she spots a flicker of green among the darkness, she grips it and pulls it up, feeling breath against her cheek. "Nyokimon," she breathes out, nuzzling into Palmon's baby form. "I'm so glad you're ok, but I'm so sorry you got hurt. I should've listened to you and moved... I should've moved the others, I should've done _something..._ "

Nyokimon makes a soft little purring noise and then reaches up, using her soft leaves to brush Alicia's tears away, smiling up at her. Alicia sniffs and stares down at her, her lips twitching up too. "Nyo," the creature chatters.

"You forgive me?" Alicia murmurs, kissing Nyokimon on what she thinks must be her forehead and smiles as Nyokimon squirms, probably something resembling a nod for a creature without a proper body. Alicia chuckles painfully and hugs her tighter. "Thank you."


	130. chapter 130

It comes suddenly. Alicia is lagging somewhere behind them, sore after confronting Nia Jax, and Owens and Seth are outright standing in the middle of the village they'd been sent to after a distress call, screaming at each other. Cass thinks in any other situation, anxious little digimon would be running around, trying to get away from the angry humans, but there's no one here. It had been empty from the moment they'd entered, and he thinks he knows what this means. It's just hard to face it.

Enzo is pacing next to him, a displeased glower on his face and Cass thinks he's guessed as well. Turning his flaming blue eyes onto Seth and Kevin, he stomps over to them and gets between them, pushing them apart. "Hey! If you two ignoramuses could look around for a min and pay attention to somethin' other than your own egos, you'd see there's somethin' bigger goin' on here than which'a ya should be leader of the group, huh?"

Seth and Kevin both stop short and turn to stare at him, eyes wide before they turn away from each other and look around, realizing that he's right. "Whoa," Seth mumbles, stepping forward with Betamon, forgetting his anger while faced with a mystery.

Owens heads in the other direction with Bearmon and Enzo exhales, smirking over his shoulder as Cass joins him, patting his arm and smiling down at him. "C'mon, big man." They walk off in a different direction away from Alicia, Seth and Owens, trying to figure out where the digimon may have all gone, or what might have happened here... when breathing suddenly becomes difficult, Cass' vision foggy and yellow tinted. Cass squeezes Enzo's arm but he abruptly disappears, Cass' gaze swimming too much for him to locate his best friend. "Zo," he tries to slur out just to collapse to his knees. Nothing can be done for it, he drops face first into the ground and struggles just to breathe.

The air is clear when Cass wakes up awhile later, a throbbing ache pounding by his temples and he moans out, "Zo?" There's no answer and he remembers Enzo fading away under his grip as his consciousness failed him, the big man quickly sitting up and looking around desperately. "Where are you?" He pauses, not hearing an answer or seeing his friend's leopard print-covered form anywhere nearby. "ENZO!"

Hyokomon is staring at him but Veemon is gone as well and Cass groans, reaching out for his partner. As the bird digimon hops up onto his sleeve, picking at his hair with his beak in what's probably supposed to be a comforting way, Cass stands up and exhales when his strength holds, his dark blue eyes gazing around. There's no Enzo. There's no Veemon. There's nothing. Cass groans and takes a step towards where he thinks he remembers Seth walking, desperate to get help, to figure this out.

"I'll find ya, 'Zo. Just... just hang on," he beckons, walking just a little faster.

-x

The place _smells_. Enzo is pretty sure it's not his apartment with Cass, because yeah they're both Jersey boys, but damn even they know how to keep things from getting this rank. Usually. Their mommas would kill 'em otherwise. He feels something cool and furry under his hand and then remembers with a sharp jerk, his eyes wide and searching as soon as he gets them opened. Veemon is sacked out next to him, breathing roughly and Enzo coughs as he sits up, circulating the yellow air. "Jeez, Cass, what is this-?"

And then he realizes. Cass ain't there. It's just him and Veemon. And a bunch of piercing yellow eyes staring at them from the darkness, glowing menacingly. "Aw hell," he mumbles, scooping his unconscious partner up and holding him close, wondering how he's going to get out of _this_ one in one piece. "Is ok, Sugar Ray Amore'll think'a something," he promises his partner as he labors to breathe, each inhale burning through Enzo's lungs in a way that he thinks is a very, very bad sign. "And if not, then Cass'll come and save us. I got no doubt."

The mocking laughter that follows this comment, the eyes now flickering and wavering even more, unsettles him. Leaves him hugging Veemon even more as he wonders what exactly is hiding in the shadows, too frozen in fear to try to find out.


	131. chapter 131

Seth tries to breathe. Of course. Of _course_. Out of all of them, Enzo Amore would up and disappear on them, leaving Cass to thrum in panic and aggravation when no one moves fast enough for his liking. "Look, we'll find him, just calm down," he snaps, glaring at Cass. He wavers, ever so slightly, under the big man's glare and grimaces. "You're not doing anyone any favors, much less him, by acting like this. Relax with the Kill Bill sirens routine and just... let's find him."

Alicia is a little more consoling, even though she has to reach up almost on her tippy toes just to reach his shoulder. "He's strong, he'll be alright."

"He'd better be," Owens mumbles. "I don't want to deal with you pouting for months, when he was concussed was bad enough." Cass' glare doesn't bother the new WWE Universal champion, who shrugs and wanders off to pretend to look in the distance for some sign of what might have happened to Enzo.

"Run me through it again," Seth says, sitting patiently as Cass recalls the moment- the yellow air, how it hurt to breathe, how Enzo seemingly disappeared right in front of him. Seth takes it all in, exhales roughly and touches his digivice. "Best we can do is search the surrounding areas with our fastest digimon. Seadramon and I will go by sea, Alicia and Lilimon can go by air, I guess, and Owens and Gryzmon can go by ground."

"Who said I'm going anywhere?" Kevin responds, glowering at Seth, until he sees the look on both Cass and Seth's faces. "Fine," he grouses. "I'll save the day and find him. Whatever. You are going to owe me one when I do." He stops just short of poking Cass in the chest before turning on his heel and motioning to Bearmon, his partner digivolving while they walk.

Alicia is easy to convince and their partners are digivolving before Cass can even find the words to ask, "What about me? What do I do?"

"Lilimon isn't big enough to carry anyone but me," Alicia says sympathetically.

Seth exhales and mumbles something to his partner, watching as MegaSeadramon dips his tail down in front of Cass, waiting patiently as the 7 foot tall man clambers up with surprising speed until he's sitting near Seth, Hyokomon perched on his shoulder and watching closely. "Let's go," Seth says to MegaSeadramon, relieved that there's a body of water nearby that his partner traverses with ease.

"We're gonna find him, right?" Cass finally can't help but ask, not knowing or liking Seth that well but needing the encouragement.

Seth's gaze is dark and piercing when he peers over his shoulder. "Of course we are," he says, voice not belying how he truly feels about the matter.

It does little to actually reassure Cass.

-x

Owens sighs as Gryzmon runs faster across the barren land they'd found on the southern part of the village that Enzo had been taken from. _Definitely not how I was planning on spending my day,_ he thinks, shielding his eyes from the blinding sun overhead. "Stupid Enzo, some digimon probably took him just to shut him up. Guy always did talk too much," he says, unsurprised when Gryzmon fails to respond.

Gryzmon speeds on, Kevin keeping an eye on his digivice the entire time. He's not sure if it would work, but Luke had claimed that digivices could show as small blips on the map, so he keeps an eye out anyway. _Anything to get this mission finished,_ he tells himself, ignoring the thread of worry buried deep inside of him.

-x

Alicia and Lilymon fly in a different direction than where Seth and Cass, or Kevin, had gone, trying to watch out for anything out of the ordinary. She hugs her partner around the neck, relieved that Lilymon is strong enough to transport her like this for lengthy distances. "He has to be ok," she murmurs as Lilymon's wings flutter just out of her line of sight. "He _has_ to be..."

"He will be," Lilymon tells her, voice strong and certain. "We'll find him. Cass wouldn't allow any other thing to happen."

Alicia's smile is short, painful. "They are really adorable best friends." A fact that makes her even more determined to find Enzo, her watchful dark eyes searching every bit of ground as it races under them.

-x

Enzo's breathing is growing even more labored, Veemon sounding sicker with each passing minute as well. He closes his eyes and tries to ignore the sound of the Geremon chattering around them. "Just... hope you're ok, Big Cass," he mumbles, words muffled by Veemon's fur. "They prolly couldn't carry you, so just took me. 'N' that's ok. I'm glad you're not here."

His blue eyes blink open once more before his energy fails and he collapses into the dirt, still hugging Veemon as tightly as possible.


	132. chapter 132

Owens stares down at Gryzmon as he races across the land. He moves fast, even with Owens' weight on his back, and Owens dreads to find out what might happen if his partner will have to stop short. He digs his fingers into his fur, relieved when Gryzmon doesn't complain. The surroundings are hard to focus on at this speed and finally Owens shuts his eyes, trusting his partner to tell him if he notices something off.

His worst worry happens when Gryzmon stops short, only Owens' fingers digging into his fur keeping him from flying forward. "What is it?!" he demands before looking down, finding a young digimon staring up at them. "Who are you?"

The white creature blinks innocently and hops off, its wings fluttering uselessly as it moves away.

"What-?" Owens demands, staring at it. "Should we... follow that little, weird looking thing?"

"It's a Cupimon," Gryzmon explains. "It likes to help people and spread positivity."

"Oh great, a Digimon version of the New Day. Just as long as it doesn't have a trombone," he sighs. "C'mon, let's go see what it wants." While they lumber after the small digimon, Kevin pulls his digivice out and stares at it again, blinking when it refreshes and a blinking icon shows up on the screen. "Hey! I think the digimon is leading us to Enzo," he hisses to Gryzmon, who glances back at him.

"Let's be careful then," his partner tells him quietly. "It could be a trick."

"Right." They lurk behind Cupimon, watching as the dot on his digivice grows bigger and the area around it becomes more defined. "I think we're almost there."

Gryzmon nods and looks around sharply, his eyes narrowing as Cupimon stops at the mouth of a cave and turns to stare at them. "It's your call, Kevin," he says simply.

Kevin exhales, weighs his options. In the end, his ego wins out after imagining how the other digidestined would react upon his saving Enzo. "Go ahead," he says, tangling his fingers in Gryzmon's fur as they continue to walk forward, following Cupimon into the darkness.


	133. chapter 133

While the other group try to find Enzo, Miz and the others find themselves picking up the slack and going to other cries for help that their digivices pinpoint them towards. Their digimon trail behind them, no one seeming that thrilled with the unending list of red dots on the digivices. "What is going on?" Miz mumbles, shaking the silver plated item, a part of him hoping that it will be enough to break it, make it malfunction, anything to give them a break. Alas, it doesn't work and they trek on to the next, and the next, and the next, doing their best to clear away troublemakers in villages.

Their partners are tired. Hell, they themselves are too. It's torture to carry on like this, and Mike thinks he would've given up a long time ago, if not for Heath Slater's obnoxious insistence that they save as many as they can and Ziggler's not so subtle prodding that Miz isn't digidestined material _nor_ champion material. He's in the middle of another of these unending smug-filled rants when the ground shakes and everyone freezes. One minute, they're all standing there gaping and the next, a huge axe slams into the ground between them and sends them scattering. How none of them have gotten hit, Mike isn't sure as he struggles to brush sand from his eyes, staring up at the monsterous creature that is nothing but sharp edges and grey armor. "Oh shit," he breathes out, suddenly feeling like he's in the middle of a horror movie.

"What is that?" Ziggler demands, coughing up sand and grime as he leans up on his elbows and stares at the hideous digimon looming over them.

"Skull Knightmon," Patamon cries out. "We all need to digivolve- now!" For a few moments, the bright lights coming from the digivices as energy is exchanged seems to distract the large creature, but soon he's back to attacking, swatting at the larger digimon as they fly around him, try to find weak points and attack them to keep him down. None of their partners had had the strength to digivolve to their strongest forms, which worries the digidestined, but there's not much they can do but watch.

And grimace or cry out when their partners slowly get taken out one by one. "Oh dammit!" Mike yells, not wanting to die here, staring at where Cyberdramon is laying a few feet away. None of the other partners are faring any better, most barely moving or breathing or responding to their partners' despairing calls.

"We need to do something," Dean grunts, holding his digivice out. "Pick one digimon, we'll give him all of our energy." The others stare at him in confusion before looking at their partners. Most had returned to rookie or baby forms, leaving only Mike's partner in his digivolved form. "Justimon can take Skull Knightmon, hopefully," Ambrose concludes, aiming his digivice at Mike's. The others follow suit, an impressive rainbow of energy striking the screen of Mike's digivice and transferring the power to Cyberdramon, causing him to digivolve the rest of the way into Justimon.

Skull Knightmon seems unimpressed, slashing his axe at the newly digivolved creature, but Justimon evades and then punches almost clean through the evil digimon, the energy from all of the others just enough fuel to overpower him to the point that he can't quite control it. Skull Knightmon's eyes bulge out before he starts to delete, Justimon pulling his hand out of the mess of armor and everything else that it's trapped in before collapsing, Monodramon laying there motionless. As soon as Skull Knightmon is gone, Mike ventures forward and collects his partner, relieved that it had ended as well- and as quickly- as it had.

"I think we need to call it a day," he says. "We won't be help to anyone if we get hurt or these guys get deleted."

It's awful to leave those blinking alerts unassisted, but they have no real choice right now.


	134. chapter 134

Seth isn't even sure how long they've been gliding over the sea by now, his mind wandering as he tries not to focus on Cass' uneven breathing, muttering under his breath like the surf and the wind is enough to drown out his insistent chatter. Like without Enzo around to fill the silence around him, he feels the need to take on the mantle, even though he utterly fails at it and only serves to annoy people even more than his tag partner, which Seth hadn't thought was possible. Seth's looking at his digivice when it all just becomes too much and he slips down Seadramon's neck to come face to face with Cass. "Shut up, can't you just be quiet for one minute? I'm trying to think here, to find _your_ obnoxious little partner, but you just keep muttering and whispering and... my God, man, make yourself useful so I'm not the only one doing something!"

Cass looks confused, Hyokomon's beak working silently as well. "I haven't been saying anything," Cass says, his brows furrowing as his hands close into fists. "You losing it, Rollins? Maybe we should force Ambrose back in as leader of this group too."

Seth snaps, "Shut up!" then looks up, trying to find the cause of the noise. What he sees leaves him pale and wide eyed. "Oh shit," he breathes, causing Cass to look up too.

"Son of a bitch," he hisses out, the tall, armor plated digimon floating overhead leaving them both shaking in awe and fear. "Hyokomon-"

"He's not strong enough," Seth snaps. "Seadramon, go!" The warp digivolution takes away their support and Cass finds himself in the water before he can even blink, grabbing at Hyokomon as he struggles and thrashes around, feathers wet and weighed down with water now. Seth floats without a problem, watching as MetalSeadramon tries to get the first shot, just to be batted away like he's nothing by a beam shot from the vicious creature's gun. Missiles and blasts follow in rapid recession and Seth can barely look, the blinding lights leaving him struggling just to navigate his way in the choppy water.

"RIVER OF POWER!" MetalSeadramon responds after a moment, cranking his neck around and slamming a stream of energy at MagnaGarurumon, causing him to falter. The two mega levels begin exchanging attacks like they're nothing, fighting hard to get the upperhand, each blow doing nothing to dissuade them until a blow cracks MetalSeadramon's armor almost in two and he floats there, in shock. MagnaGarurumon takes advantage of this by slamming his gun blaster down into his armor plates, twisting and tearing at them even further as he shoots deep into MetalSeadramon's body.

"NO!" Seth screams, realizing that he's about to lose his partner, MetalSeadramon's eyes closed as his body convulses. "METALSEADRAMON! Get free! C'mon!"

Cass _almost_ feels bad for him as he clings to Hyokomon, wondering why MagnaGarurumon is doing this... when time sees to freeze. Another monsterous creature appears, staring MagnaGarurumon down.

Seth breathes raggedly, staring at him. He thinks he looks familiar, like... Alicia or someone had described him already, with his features so similiar to Garurumon, massive golden swords poking out of his hands. MetalSeadramon abruptly shines bright and dedigivolves to a small black creature with nothing but eyes and a round body, sinking into the water until Seth swallows down his fear and dives forward, ignoring the massive digimon overhead as he saves his partner and hugs him close, tears filling his eyes as he listens to Botamon's faint mutters. "I've got you, you're safe," he tells the baby, trying to swim further away from the site of the battle.

"Oh, my poor child," Ancient Garurumon tells MagnaGarurumon. "Defiled like so many other digimon recently... I wish I had the power to cleanse you, but alas, it would probably just be a short fix and we would be back at square one with you. Best to start over from a clean slate, hm?" He lifts his swords. "Please forgive me." Two slashes downwards with the swords and MagnaGarurumon deletes in a burst of data.

"Excuse me," Cass yells up at him in desperation before he disappears, still clinging to his partner. "Can you tell us anything about Enzo Amore's location?"

"One of your fellow digidestined is very close to finding him," Ancient Garurumon offers. "You should be able to track them using your digivice. Farewell and good luck." He disappears as quickly as he'd come and Cass swallows, staring down at Hyokomon before looking up at Seth and snagging him by the collar, swimming determinedly to shore to begin the search all over again for Enzo.


	135. chapter 135

After giving their partners some rest time, the Smackdown team returns to the Digiworld and starts searching for villages that need help, the red dots almost overwhelming the maps on their digivices. "Oh hell," Dean exhales, staring at them all, a little overwhelmed. "Well, are we ready?"

"I guess," Miz mumbles. Zack, Heath and Dolph let this answer stand for them too as they follow Dean to the portal to go to the most desperate of the sensors, staring on in horror at the village.

A grey and black bodied bird is swooping over the area, raining grey dust over the ground and all of the creatures living there. "Oh no," Dean mumbles, staring as dark, lifeless eyes turn to stare at them. "I think we're in trouble."

"Digivolve," Miz snaps, his partner quickly moving to comply, Cyberdramon jumping into the village and starting to fight as best as he can without deleting the innocent creatures inside. WaruSeadramon, Darcmon, Moosemon and Wisemon dive in to back him up before Dean calls to WaruSeadramon, looking up at the bird digimon, who had finally stopped raining dust over everything. As his partner joins him, he mutters to him and watches as WaruSeadramon evolves the rest of the way to Plesiomon, immediately aiming soundwaves at the digimon flying overhead.

It shocks him and he freezes, shaking his head left to right before he freefalls down, rapidly flapping his wings and throwing fire at Plesiomon, singing the water digimon. "Plesiomon!" Dean yells, his partner shaking it off and trying again, slowing Hououmon down just enough to leap up and landing heavily on top of him and burying him into the ground, slapping his fins against the creature, ignoring his attempt at flying once more. Plesiomon hops, his weight falling on top of Hououmon again and again, trapping him deeper into the ground.

It's not until a solid, grey light surrounds Plesiomon that Dean realizes things are starting to go very wrong. Plesiomon suddenly droops and Hououmon breaks free, flying high above him before pouring some grey dust upon him, Plesiomon blinking lazily, his body reacting to the dust by during a grey shade as well. Dean gapes at his partner. "No!" He races forward, scrambles past Hououmon and climbs up Plesiomon's slick body, wrapping his arm around his neck. "Plesiomon, fight it- fight, come on, don't let this asshole win!" he exclaims, his digivice clinched tight in his hand, barely aware when it starts to vibrate and glow, breaking the grey dust covering his partner and returning him to normal, along with the energy that Hououmon had drained from him.

Plesiomon snorts heavily and looks up, opening his mouth wide and crying out, a strange energy pulsing throughout the entire village, everyone impacted by it suddenly overwhelmed by sadness and losing the will to fight, including Hououmon. Dean takes the chance, sliding away from Plesiomon and walking over to him. "I get the feeling you weren't evil," he tells him. "I've seen digimon who were evil from their first breath, and I've seen others who were turned evil. I'm gonna try to fix this." Pressing his digivice to the creature's side, he doesn't waver even when the creature glares morosely down at him, the glow from his device surrounding him, wiping away the gold and replacing him with a golden light.

Hououmon breathes out, releasing a deep squeech as his graceful body returns to gold with red and purple feathers scattered here and there. Once he's returned to full strength again, he takes to the air once more. This time the dust that sweeps from his body is golden, hitting all of the villagers and returning them to their former, calm and peaceful selves once more.

"I can't believe that happened," Dean mumbles, eyebrows lifting as he looks around at his fellow digidestined, their partners returning to their rookie forms. "I guess I'm finally getting a handle on all of this craziness." He smirks, proud of himself. "Of course. While Rollins can't even find Enzo." Shaking his head, he exhales, not as pleased about that one as he thinks he should be. "At this rate, we're going to have to help them find him before Survivor Series. It's been years and I still have to clean up Rollins' messes..." Leaning down to pick up Otamamon, he looks around at the group of Digidestined. "Come on, let's go to the next village."

As they trek on, he makes sure not to check his digivice in an attempt to figure out where Seth's group is searching at currently.


	136. chapter 136

Cupimon makes these curious little noises as they walk deeper into the darkness, Owens liking this less and less the deeper they go. The only thing lighting their way is the red glow on his digivice, alerting them that they're almost on top of Enzo... when there's a weird, fluttering noise and Gryzmon immediately stops short, Owens gritting his teeth against the jostle. "What the-?" he demands, just to freeze when he feels a chilly breath down his neck. "Aw, hell..."

There's a fresh gust of wind as something moves just past his head and Gryzmon cries out, the red gleam only enough for Owens to see that a female digimon with ridiculously sharp claws has implanted them in his partner's skulls, Gryzmon's eyes glowing with madness as he tries to buck her off, in essence knocking Kevin clear to the floor instead. "HEY!" Owens yells, getting up to his feet once he's shaken off the surprise of how fast it all happened and dashes to his partner's side, finding the creature in the dark and chomping down hard on her arm.

He's not sure if she's a weaker digimon or the fact that a human had attacked surprised her but she lets out a squeech of pain and releases Gryzmon, fluttering back before ramming forward, pinning Owens to the wall and trying to embed her claws in him as well. Before she can accomplish it, Gryzmon rams forward and mauls her with his own claws, deleting her quickly and scattering data all over Owens. He sputters and coughs, slowly regaining control of himself once more. "Well, that was fun. Anymore traps you want to drag us into?" he demands of Cupimon, the little guy continuing to babble in whatever language it has to be that he speaks.

Despite himself, when Cupimon resumes walking ahead, Owens follows, Gryzmon close behind. The caverns are huge, echoing and frightening and Owens just wants to leave now, but he proceeds, aware that should he save Enzo, it might shut people up for awhile and make them see that he's _sooo_ much better than Seth Rollins. These thoughts get wiped from his mind when he trips over something sprawled on the ground and lands hard, probably scraping a good inch of flesh off of his nose in the fall. "SON OF A BITCH!" he yells out, turning to kick at what tripped him... just to realize it's soft, feels human, and even grunts upon contact. "Enzo?"

"Hel, help," that obnoxious Jersey accent, sounding a lot less obnoxious and a lot more in trouble right now, floats back to him and he scrambles over, grabbing Enzo and hoisting him up so he can see. It's definitely him, his digivice confirms it, the dots right on top of each other, and he sighs. "Well, what do you know, guess I've saved the day..."

He's just hoisted Enzo to his feet, trying to steady him and locate Veemon in the darkness too, when there's a weird rumbling noise behind him and Cupimon lets out a squeaking noise, Gryzmon's growl fading away abruptly just before there's a solid flash of pain on Owens' right side and he hits the opposite side of the cave, everything immediately going dark as he loses consciousness. "Enzo," is the last thing he mumbles, fingers clutching empty air now.


	137. chapter 137

Still pinch hitting for Raw's team, Smackdown's group keeps clearing off problem areas as they can, trying to spare what Digimon they can because Dolph remains paranoid of what the extra data will mean. Zack stays close to him as they approach the latest blipping red dot on the map, frowning. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what, kid?" he asks, brows furrowing as he looks around. "Seems quiet to me."

Zack shakes his head, confused. "Sounds like... a whistle, but I don't know. It sounds far away. Have you been going to too many concerts, bro?" He smirks at Dolph as he rolls his eyes, nudging his best friend away before walking on ahead, step purposeful and determined. Zack loiters behind, still hearing this strange noise, and then...

"I hear it too," Patamon whispers before flying forward and landing on Dolph's head.

"Hey! Watch the hair," he exclaims, staring up at the digimon as Impmon snickers at his feet. "Zack, come get your-"

His words die away as he realizes something is barreling towards him, a... a train digimon. Of course. Why wouldn't it be? Before he could panic or scream, anything else, Zack's tackled them, throwing them out of the way and shielding them all from the dust and debris the engine brings up from the ground.

"Shit! Kid, are you ok?" Dolph demands, gripping Zack by the arms.

"Think so, but I can't really see," he mumbles, blinking fruitlessly against the foreign objects that had worked their way into his eyes. "Dammit. Bro, are you ok? Patamon? Impmon?"

"We're fine, thanks to you." Setting his friend back down, Dolph stands up. "Impmon, Patamon, you good to go?"

"Yep," Impmon says, following Patamon into a quick digivolution.

"Try not to destroy him," Dolph orders tensely, going against everything he's feeling as Zack struggles behind them. As the fight wages on, Dolph steps back and rests a hand on Zack's back, finding a bottle of water and trying to rinse his eyes out. "I should've listened to you, you weren't hearing things. Maybe I should get my ears checked."

Zack chuckles wearily as more water is poured down his face, blinking sluggishly. "Thanks, bro. I think it's helping." He focuses on Dolph then grimaces as his eyes throb anew. "Slowly."

"We'll get you home and get you checked out by the trainer as soon as this is over," Dolph promises, rubbing up and down his spine briskly. They both cringe away as explosions are issued from Locomon, Darcmon and Wizardmon doing all they can to avoid the attacks. Nodding at each other, the two digimon move closer together and aim their sword and staff at the train type creature, preparing their attacks. Once released, the beams of light merge together and explode against Locomon, rattling his body and leaving him weakened.

Dolph leaves Zack then and runs forward, his digivice held out. It covers Locomon in a bright light, absorbing the darkness and cleansing his remaining data, leaving him as a digiegg but still whole, without adding to the sea of data that still eats at Dolph mercilessly some nights.

As their partners return to their smaller forms, Dolph races over to Zack and helps him stand up. "Let's go now," he says calmly, turning Zack back towards the portal.

As they fall through the data field back to earth, he realizes he's never felt this relieved to be home before.


	138. chapter 138

Alicia stares helplessly at her digivice, not sure where to go next. After splitting up with the others, she and Lilymon had flown around, looking for some sign- anything- to point them towards where Enzo was at.

"I just don't know what to do," she sighs, looking over at her partner. "Where do you think we should look next, Lilymon?"

"I'm not sure," her partner sighs, tightening her hold on Alicia as she flies a little faster. "Maybe we should meet back up with Seth and Cass, or Kevin..."

"Yeah," Alicia sighs. "Maybe Kevin. I think Seth and Cass would be ok on their own."

"Alright." Lilymon has just turned in that direction when she stops short. "Do you feel that?"

"No, what-" Alicia's just asked when something forms around them, closes up like a sieve- but then Lilymon acts, drops her and pushes her all at the same time, sending her dropping to the ground where her instincts as a wrestler takes over and she braces for impact, rolling with the fall and somehow managing to not injure herself.

She gapes up at the tall, silver digimon overhead and swallows. "Wh- who are you?" The creature doesn't answer, but Alicia can't help thinking that he looks familiar somehow. Her interest in the digimon's name fades away quickly anyway when she looks over and realizes that her partner is cocooned in some glimmering monstrosity of a construct that's floating in mid-air, Alicia unable to even _see_ Lilymon. "No, no, what happened?! Where did you do to her?!"

Doumon lands before Alicia and eyes her, Alicia finally realizing. "You... you look like AJ Lee's partner," she chokes out. "But you're not... who are you?"

Doumon just laughs, a blank, echoing kind of chortle. "I am no partner. I am Doumon. And I could easily do to you what I did to your... _partner..._ " She raises a hand and aims it at Alicia, eyes narrowing warningly as Alicia stumbles back, then tries to call out to Lilymon. "She cannot hear you, the walls of my construct are too thick."

Alicia sniffs, wipes at her face, and then takes off at a run, hoping her long legs would be enough to get her there- she leaps, she lands hard and almost scrambles off of the other side, but she digs her fingernails in to the side of the creation Doumon's stuffed her partner in and she exhales. "C'mon, c'mon... c'mon..." Closing her eyes, she exhales. "Lilymon, please-"

"It's unbreakable," Doumon says boredly. "Nothing you can do will free her."

But Alicia doesn't give up, her eyes flashing as she takes Doumon's words as a challenge. "C'mon, Lilymon, we can do this. Together!" She presses her fist against the construct and thinks she feels something- a sort of warmth, some kind of calm... and then her digivice is floating before her, glowing brightly. She grabs it and slams it down, shattering the top of the prison holding her partner.

Doumon screeches, seemingly in pain, and then Alicia hits again and again and again, the rest of the shards scraping around and then collapsing in on itself, freeing Lilymon and sending Alicia falling, falling, falling... until she finds herself curled up in her partner's arms, breathing heavily. "You saved me!" she cried, hugging Alicia tightly. "Thank you, thank you so much!"

"Of course, I'll always be there for you," Alicia says, tears filling her eyes too. "Now... end this monster," she says, relieved when Lilymon puts her down and goes to do just that.

"FLOWER CANNON!" The power from Alicia's digivice seems to have fueled her, her attack blowing straight through Doumon with so much power that it craters the creature, causes him to delete almost immediately.

Alicia sags in a numb kind of pleasure before grabbing Lilymon again. "Let's find the others now."

Lilymon nods before turning in the direction Alicia points.


	139. chapter 139

The cave is dark. Enzo is limp. Kevin comes to and isn't sure what to do, where to turn. He breathes in deeply and listens to Cupimon chattering to itself somewhere in the darkness. He holds onto Enzo's arm and tries not to lose his mind while he waits. The others have to come, he thinks, but they're not. And he's not sure what to do. "Please," he mumbles. "Please..." Everything hurts. He wishes Jericho was nearby, if only to keep him conscious with his ramblings.

It's obvious when the ground shifts and a digimon approaches. He's tall, he's dangerous. Owens can barely breathe through the heat that he is bringing with him. The cave is still dark, impossible to see through. He holds onto Enzo and struggles to locate Veemon before more flames wash over near them, melting some of the rocks and leaving Owens struggling not to scream as his arm burns, the hair singing off of it. "Please, please, please-" he mumbles, and then Cupimon appears.

It glows brightly, encompassing the darkness and- well, yeah, blinding Owens in the process, but still. Once he blinks it away, he can see, he can understand what's going on around him, can see the blisters forming on his arm and make sure to avoid the heat from now on. He groans and pokes at Enzo, trying to get him to stir, to do anything, but there's nothing. The guy is out. He's about to really panic about that when there's an explosion and yelling, the digimon distracted first by Cupimon's attack, and next by what's going on behind him. But there's nothing for it- Cupimon hits him again and again with blasts of light, and then-

"LIghtning Javelin!" More light, sizzling through the darkness, impacting with the creature and sending him diving away from Owens and Enzo. They lay there, Owens trying to shield the smaller man from debris and the heat, when Cass drops down next to them, the battle ongoing behind them. "Enzo," he breathes out, tears dripping down his face. He pulls his partner away from Owens and cradles him, nuzzling into his shorn, dyed hair.

"He, uh," Owens begins awkwardly, "He was talkin' a little bit but then this place caved in and he's been quiet ever since."

Cass is clearly worried, the battle ongoing behind them, but he hoists Enzo up a little higher and murmurs to him until finally, _finally,_ Enzo's voice crackles out, causing both of them to sag in relief. "Don't scare me like that, Zo," Cass mumbles, MetalSeadramon and Algomon Ultimate continuing to war on behind them, flashes and roars of anger issuing from the two creatures until finally MetalSeadramon breaks through distortion caused by his attacks and lunges through Algomon, sending electicity pulsing through him and causing him to scream out in agony... before shattering into pieces of data.

"Ay, what's that light?" Enzo slurs, his eyes still closed as he leans against Cass.

"That's our ticket home," Cass chuckles, stroking Enzo's hair.

"...I missed home," Enzo admits, leaning against him.

"Well, that's fix that."

Veemon is awake and with it by the time they return to earth, Enzo also regrouping well enough. "Thanks for comin' to find me, Big Cass," Enzo says while sprawled out on the couch at home. "I missed ya'."

"I missed you too, man," Cass says, leaning against the back of the couch to stroke Enzo's hair. "Next time, never ever do something like that me again, alright?"

Enzo chuckles. Nods. "Yessir, Big Cass, sir!"


	140. chapter 140

Heath hums, wandering around the hallways of the arena they find themselves in, hands pressed into his pockets as he tries to relax after his latest match. It's quiet, calm, considering the show's over and most of the wrestlers are gone or leaving. He likes it like this, finding a bit of a respite from the volume of his thoughts as he listens to music as loud as he likes in his earphones.

That is until there's a horribly loud crashing noise somewhere behind him and Heath hisses, leaping instinctively and pulling his earbuds out before spinning around. He doesn't see anything but stumbles forward anyway, letting Lopmon out of his digivice just in case. "What was that?"

"I don't know, but I sense something," his partner says, frowning. "Data... but it's not from any of us digidestined. What the hell..." They continue on, listening and watching, until a highpitched yell comes from the side and bubbles burst out of nowhere, popping against Heath's shirt and immediately eating through it, Heath yelling and flailing as he tears the fabric off and gapes.

"What the hell, man, I liked that shirt!" he cries until realizing his partner's run forward, staring at something. "What is it?" he hisses, following on almost a tiptoe.

"Paomon," Lopmon says. "It's not organic, a human created him."

"Wha?!" Heath sputters.

Lopmon slips between two boxes and Heath can do nothing but stand there and wait, tense and fearful for his partner, when suddenly he hears a familiar cry and then... "Petit twister!" There's a flash of light and data streams out between the boxes, Lopmon quickly reappearing a moment later. "Basically a baby digimon," he explains grimly. "Probably drawn by all of the digidestined in this arena. Someone created him and he... his powers were impressed for his power level. If he had digivolved while on earth..." Shuddering Lopmon pokes at Heath's shirt. "You're lucky his attack didn't touch your skin."

Heath huffs, pulling the shirt up and staring through the hole in the fabric. "No kidding! But everything's normal now?"

Lopmon gazes around. Nods. "I don't feel any other data like that. But the arena's gonna have some damage to repair."

Heath turns and gasps loudly, realizing there's a sizeable hole in the roof where Paomon's acidic attack had ate through. "Damn! Let's get out of here before someone tries to blame this on us," he says, quickly sending Lopmon back into his digivice before making a run for it.


	141. chapter 141

Enzo is still recovering from both being targetted by Rusev and getting kidnapped by Aldomon. Cass is keeping a close eye on him, following him closely during the latest mission. "So what's going on here?" Enzo wonders, glancing down at Veemon as they walk slowly towards the village calling for help.

"We're not sure, but it seems pretty bad," Cass says, keeping a hand close to him in case his balance should fail. "Seems the bigger the spot on the map is, the worst it is."

Enzo stares at the huge red dot and grimaces. "Oh, I thought it was because we were getting closer."

"No, it's been that size since we first noticed it," Cass reminds him. Seth glances back at them before pushing his way into the village, followed by the rest of the Raw team. "Stay close, Zo," he requests before walking in.

They've barely taken a step when Cass drops, hard and fast. Enzo blinks in awe before dashing to him and trying to roll him over. "Cass!" Veemon is evolving, trying to defend Enzo _and_ Cass while Hyokomon flutters by his partner, frantic. Magnamon lunges into the air and grabs at the digimon hovering over the air, surveying the area with a certain kind of hyperactive glee, everyone down on the ground, either unconscious or groaning in agony.

"What did you do?" he demands, kicking at the digimon to get him away from the digidestined.

"I shoot, I can't help it, it's what I do," Magna Kidmon says cheerfully, slinging the guns on his arms and legs all over and randomly shooting more things.

Magnamon grits his teeth before hoisting a beam at him, sending him off course. "I can't let you continue doing this," he says tensely.

"Cass, c'mon, man, you gotta wake up," Enzo says, shaking his partner. "Please, I need ya to-" He freezes when Magna Kidmon settles in behind him, guns resting right against his spine. "No, no-"

Magnamon tackles him away, saving Enzo, but then Cass grabs him and covers him with his body, gritting his teeth against the pain of moving. "Hold on, Zo, I've got you," he exhales, pressing his face into Enzo's shoulder.

Enzo brushes Cass' hair away, watching worriedly as Magnamon and Magna Kidmon fight back and forth, trying to gain the upperhand. Magnamon gets shot out of the air and lands heavily next to Enzo and Cass, causing both of them to flinch. "Hyokomon, please-"

Within seconds, Buraimon appears out of Hyokomon's evolution and they stand side by side, preparing to attack when the glow of digivolution only grows instead of fading away. Cass nor Enzo are sure of what's going on, holding onto their digivices as their partners merge together and... "Grademon!" His body is golden, blue cape billowing past his armor plates, two large swords gleaming in his hands.

"Wait, what?" Enzo mumbles, barely able to see over Cass' shoulder. "They digivolved together? _How?_ "

"I don't know," Cass says, looking behind them. "We'll have to... figure it out later..." His voice wavers and Enzo continues to pat his hair.

"Stay with me, big man." Cass exhales shakily and lays his head back against Enzo's shoulder.

Grademon glances over at them before flying forward. "GRADE SLASH!" he yells, slamming his swords down across Magna KIdmon's body, reflecting a couple of bullets on the downswing. To his credit, Magna Kidmon struggles to fight back but Grademon gets another slash in with his sword and the digimon staggers as he starts to delete.

"No, not like this," he chokes out. "I'm not done... I'm not done shooting..." But it's too late, his extremities are the first to go, taking his guns with them, and then he floats there helplessly as the last of his data streams away from him. "Oh..."

As soon as he's gone, Grademon flies over to Enzo and Cass and rests his hand on Cass' back. "Are you ok?!"

"Yes," Cass chokes out as Enzo looks over at the other unconscious digidestined.

"Go to Luke's," he beseeches their partner. "Get help. Then when you come back, we're gonna discuss how this all happened."

Grademon nods before flying off desperately to get his partners help.

"You hang on Cass, help is comin'," Enzo tells him.

"I am," he whispers. "Don't worry, Zo. I'm not goin' anywhere."


	142. chapter 142

"Did you hear that Enzo and Cass' partners jogress digivolved?" Impmon asks, trying to get Dolph's attention. Zack is injured so he's basically alone, no one else on the Smackdown side of things liking him enough to keep him company.

"No," he says slowly, glancing down at his partner. "They alright?" He's aware that it takes drastic things for a team to actually hit that level, so he can only imagine the danger they were in.

"Yeah, the whole Raw group got battered but they're alright." They continue walking until Impmon stops short. "Hang on."

"What?" Before Dolph can say anything else, the ground begins to rattle... "Earthquake?" he asks, stumbling and falling back onto his ass as Impmon struggles to see what's going on as well.

"No, I don't think so," he mumbles. "It's something else, it's something-"

Just then something dark and shadowy bursts past Impmon and ghosts through Dolph, biting him. "Ow!"

"I know what that is," Impmon says, brows furrowing. "Aegiochusmon!"

As if summoned by his call, a plant creature with thorns bursting from each arm lands between Impmon and Dolph, smirking. "You called, Impmon?"

"What did you just do to my partner?" he demands, teeth gritting as she laughs at him.

"You know what I did. Would you like me to do the same to you?"

"No, I would like you to stop this."

"I have asked you for help in the past, now perhaps I've forced your hand. Will you do what I requested of you?" When he still hesitates, she whips him with the thorn protusions from her arms and Impmon hisses at her.

"Fine! I'll do it, I will." With little communication with Dolph, he digivolves to Wizardmon and blasts her with magical flames, frying her slowly. She absorbs it and spreads her thorny arms out, letting them get eaten away by the heat as well.

"Thank you," she breathes. "As soon as I am... purified, your partner will be fine again..."

Wizardmon nods and feeds more flame into the connection, causing her to shatter into bright red pieces of data. As soon as she's gone, he drops to his knees by Dolph and grips his arm, looking at the bite on his upper arm. "The pain's fading," he offers, opening his eyes a slit and peering at Wizardmon. "What was with her?"

"A former friend of mine," he says regretfully. "She was in pain and I refused to help her, so she turned dark and I never saw her again until now. I'm not sure how she found me, but I was one of the few digimon with control over fire, so I suppose she still trusted me enough to at least purify her." He runs a finger over the fading bite marks from the ghost and exhales. "You're fine now, but I am so sorry you were dragged into all of this."

"Don't worry about it, I knew you had my back. Just like she knew you had hers."

Wizardmon exhales. "Maybe if I had had her back sooner, she wouldn't have been so desperate..." Dedigivolving back to Impmon, he falls in step with Dolph as they try to catch back up with the rest of the team.


	143. chapter 143

_You are trapped._

"Who are you?" Dolph demands, turning in a tight circle. It's dark, it's still. He hates it. "Who _are_ you?"

_You need to stop fixating and HELP your friends. They can't do it without you._

"Do what?! I don't even know what you're talking about!"

_The digital world will correct itself of this imbalance, but it can't do that if you're trapped here, like this,_ the voice continues, echoing. Intense. _You couldn't help Zack Ryder when he injured himself, do you really want to risk the others getting injured as well? When you could actually_ do _something?_

"What-" he's yelling before he realizes he's back, conscious once more. The sky is dark blue overhead and... it's quiet. Still. He looks around desperately and realizes that everyone's unconscious, lifeless around him. "Dammit!" Scrambling, he finds his digivice and holds it up. "Impmon!"

His partner stirs, digivolves. Leaps forward and deflects Gladimon's swords before stabbing his staff into the digimon, overwhelming him with various powerful elements until he shatters into pieces of data with a scream.

Dolph watches as Wizardmon returns to his side, a concerned look on his eye. "I'm ok," Dolph promises him. "Let's go wake the others up, get them help. C'mon."

As his partner walks off to do just that, Dolph stands very still for a moment. "Thank you, Ancient Garurumon."


	144. chapter 144

"Dammit, it's hot," Miz mumbles, adjusting his clothes and trying to stop himself from sweating quite so profusely. "I've never felt it this hot here before."

"Because we're heading towards a volcano," Ziggler grouses, in a mood ever since Zack Ryder had injured himself and been unable to continue on as digidestined. "Of course it's hot."

The two men glower at each other before Mike catches a glimpse of the towering mountain, all of the flame digimon hovering around it watching them impassively. "Whoa," he mumbles, Impmon rushing forward as he feels right at home here. Monodramon doesn't seem as enthused, following the others up as the heat eats at him slowly.

"What's the problem here? It seems peaceful enough," Dolph says until- there's a wall of flame that knocks all of them down and a monster of a digimon appears before them, roaring viciously before sending a rush of fire at them, the digimon doing their best to defend their human partners but also falling vulnerable to the unescapeable heat. "Impmon!" Dolph calls out, relieved when he and Monodramon both recover enough to digivolve, Wizardmon and Strikedramon rushing towards the flame-wrapped creature covered in chains known as Death Meramon.

"Blink Freeze!" Wizardmon yells, issuing wind from his staff and blowing the flames away from the downed digidestined, Strikedramon lunging past him and striking at the tall beast with his extended claw, only just evading some more flames with help from Wizardmon's wind gust. It only serves to annoy him and he throws Strikedramon away before grabbing Wizardmon and burning him ruthlessly, throwing him aside as he dedigivolves back to a limp, choking Impmon.

"Strikedramon!" Mike yells out, eyes a deep blue around his soot-covered face. "Digivolve again!" Strikedramon nods and obligingly digivolves into Cyberdramon, roaring viciously as Death Meramon swipes at him, flames cycling around his fist in a terrifying way. Evading another attack of flames, Cyberdramon lunges back and then forward, swiping at the horrible creature with his claw, trying to delete him automatically. Before he can get close enough, Death Meramon wraps a flamed chain around him and pulls, Cyberdramon's scream chilling to all in the area. It gets worse as more chains appear, red hot and whipping towards the digimon watching from the volcano sides, towards the digidestined.

Mike grips his digivice tighter and yells, "CYBERDRAMON!" as the heat from the chains approach, already singing his skin. Before they reach their targets, there's a flash of light and Death Meramon roars out in pain of his own as the chains shatter into small pieces, hitting the ground and deleting immediately. The evil digimon is next as Justimon stabs his sword straight through him, thrusting up through his upper body and head, deleting him in a brutal display that leaves Mike gasping as he drops to his knees, the chain only a couple of feet away from him when it'd failed.

"Are you alright?" Justimon demands, staring across at all of the downed digidestined.

"I think so," Heath and Dean mumbles as Mike and Dolph exchange glances, Ziggler gripping Impmon tightly.

"Let's get out of here," Dean says once they've checked on the residents of the volcano, content that they're alright.

"Yes, please," Mike exhales, still dazed by what he'd witnessed. His partner's power.


	145. chapter 145

"So, they evolve together is what you're tellin' me," Enzo says slowly, limping along after Cass. He'd tweaked his knee somewhere between getting beat down by Rusev and being kidnapped and held in the Digital World. "Our partners. Formin' one digimon." His grin is lazy, self-confident. "Ain't much of a surprise there. We always did make a pretty good team." Cass nods, helping him over a muddied portion of land. "If only my knee wasn't jacked up now, we could be doin' something about this Rusev'n'Jinder mess..." His voice trails away while Cass all but lifts him up over some downed tree branches. "Sorry, man, I'm just holdin' you up everywhere."

"Don't worry about it, Zo. I'm just glad you're doin' alright." He ruffles Enzo's hair and nudges him carefully before leading the way towards one of the infamous red dots on their digivices. "We'll be back to normal soon as you're cleared from this knee thing." Enzo nods grimly, not having much to say for once, as they walk side by side towards the burnt looking homes before them. "What happened here?"

"Dunno, looks pretty bad though." The closer they get the easier it is to hear explosions and cries for help, digimon of various ages and gender clearly under attack... but as they approach, more data streams from the village as the creatures are deleted in the blasts. Cass and Enzo exchange glances and Cass quickly kneels down, getting Enzo on his back so if they have to move, they can without his injury slowing them down.

Easy to see once they breech the front gates of the village, a robotic creature with a golden body stares down at a whimpering Meramon, arms extended and ready to attack... when Magnamon lunges forward, fresh off of digivolution, and his golden blasts streak across the evil digimon's body, shredding into his armor just a bit. Buraimon is right behind him, energy pouring from his beak as he deepens the damage, weakening him... or so they thought until Guardromon twists around and shoots missiles from his wrists at _them._

"DUCK!" Buraimon yells, Magnamon and he quickly scrambling to reach their partners... just for Cass to dive aside and brace Enzo as best as he can while laying on top of him. "Can't check on them, have to finish-"

Magnamon flies forward and shoots beams at Guardromon, Buraimon following it up with harsh strikes of his swords, the two attacks working against the vulnerable parts of the digimon's armor and shattering him to pieces. As soon as he's gone and things are quiet, except for the crying digimon, the partners run to their humans, touching Cass and Enzo gently. "Are you guys ok?" Magnamon demands, holding his breath anxiously until Enzo groans, Cass opening his eyes wearily.

"Yeah, I think so," Cass mumbles.

"Can we go home already?" Enzo wonders, anxious and aching as he grabs for his knee.

"Yes, definitely," Magnamon agrees, hoisting his partner up out of Cass' arms and preparing on flying him back, much quicker than walking. "Let's go."

Buraimon has Cass, undisturbed by his height as they follow Magnamon's quick path.


	146. chapter 146

"What is wrong with everyone anymore?" Heath grouses to Lopmon, huffing as Ziggler brushes past him impatiently. "Rhyno's off in his own world, now this..." His partner shrugs unhelpfully and Heath sighs roughly, continuing to walk. It's easy to see the problem before they've even reached the village- the gate is trashed, buildings within are destroyed, and the few digimon who still can are escaping wildly, cries and roars tearing through the night sky.

Heath grimaces as he recognizes the cause- Giga Waru Monzaemon currently stomping through the village, trying to delete as many digimon as he possibly can. "Aw man not this guy again!" he whines, hoisting Lopmon off of his head and holding him out. "Well, go on then, digivolve!"

Lopmon squirms around unhappily but eventually listens, Duftmon dashing away and joining the fight alongside Wisemon, Justimon, and Plesiomon. "Why didn't Ziggler digivolve to mega too?" he mumbles to himself, shading his eyes as brightly flashing attacks go this way and that, more innocent digimon falling all over themselves in an attempt to get away from the battle brewing in their village. Heath gets distracted, diving to the side to avoid a pink blast, and gasps for breath as dust gets in his throat. "Dammit!"

He's holding onto his digivice, squinting through the grit to watch as Duftmon shields Wisemon from another pink blast and then strikes out with explosive energy, his attack slicing straight through the massive digimon's belly and causing him to roar out in pain as his data streams around them. It's a relief when the village is freed from this evil creature, but still. Heath frowns over at Dolph as he listlessly stares down at Impmon. "What happened there?" he asks once Lopmon is back on his shoulder.

"Where?"

"With Ziggler? Only gettin' Wisemon, and not Beelzebumon?"

"Well, his crest is of friendship, right?" Lopmon muses. "Considering how he's been acting since Zack's injury, he's not been a very good friend so... maybe that weakened his digivice's power."

"No kiddin'?" Heath mumbles, staring down at his own digivice. "Huh... What d'ya know... Guess as long as I stay good ol' reliable Heath, we ain't gonna have a problem." He chuffs Lopmon under the chin and grins.


	147. chapter 147

Seth groans. "Do you think we can just stay here for awhile?" he wonders, lounging on MegaSeadramon's sun-warmed back, eyes closed. The others are scattered back on the sandy beach, enjoying the warmth after another successful mission spent rescuing a village from some bitter Black Gaogamon, and the peace is badly needed.

"If you want," MegaSeadramon says, his voice deep and content as he swims lazily around the glistening water. Seth nods and settles in more comfortably, not even minding that his clothes and hair are getting wet.

They've made a couple of slow circles around the lake, MegaSeadramon making this curious little aquatic noise which leaves Seth even sleepier and pliant, when they stop in a sudden jerk. Seth squints an eye open and looks around, startled out of his sleepy state. "MegaSeadramon? What happened?"

He's just sat up when his partner shudders. Dedigivolves, which sends Seth flailing down into the water. And it's only when Seth swims back up to the top, spitting and incredulous, that he sees the trident stabbing out of the rippling water, his eyes wide with dawning horror. "Betamon!" His partner is gone, had sunk under, he assumes in whatever this attack is... but before Seth can say or do anything, a head appears from the water and stares at him cruelly.

"Trident Fall!" There's a gleam of light, the trident slamming straight towards Seth at unimaginable speeds, and then everything goes dark.

Back at short, the others all remain oblivious to there being a problem until Palmon shifts uncomfortably, nudging Alicia. "I think something's wrong," she murmurs, her eyes fixed in the distance as she measures the wind around them.

Alicia sits up and looks around with a frown, not noticing anything until... "Hey, where's Seth?"


	148. chapter 148

Kevin Owens laughs. Cackles really. Today just couldn't get better; he retains against Reigns _again,_ and now that idiot Seth Rollins gets himself kidnapped while lazing about in the water only a few feet away from them. Seriously, what the hell?

He exhales. Stares over at the others, who are staring back at him in some incredulous awe as if he's doing something terrible. "What?" he snaps at them, lifting his hands in a disinterested kind of shrug before marching away. As he goes, Enzo begins yapping at Cass and Alicia is clearly playing with her hair, frustrated and uncomfortable with the situation they find themselves in. He ignores all of it, however, determined to get as far away from all of this as possible.

Like he would _ever_ voluntarily go to save Seth freakin' Rollins, after all. He's still repairing his reputation after helping to save Enzo a few weeks back. Bearmon's a good partner at least, loyal and stays with him until they're a good two miles away from the others, Owens' smirk all-encompassing and a little brittle. At least if Jericho was a digidestined, he could do _something,_ have someone to talk to, feed off of their energy. But here, it's just him and this weird gaggle of Raw wrestlers.

He's just closed his eyes off of a muffled little sigh when Bearmon lets out this weird squawk, cry kind of thing that he's never heard from a bear... type... creature before, his gaze immediately sharpening when he realizes a towering female with a huge sword is before them, her other hand writhing as if alive, a purple tongue darting out of its jaws hungrily. "What the hell?!" he yells, almost yelling in French before catching himself, Bearmon gripping his pant leg and tugging.

She laughs. Holds her hand out towards him and _blows,_ fine dust covering him and Bearmon. He's gone, floating on a ridiculous high, before he can even blink.


	149. chapter 149

Dean feels antsy. He's not sure why, but there's an odd vibe in the air. The Rumble has passed, he's going to be in the elimination chamber in a week's time, and yet... nothing feels right. He adjusts his title belt, he glances down at Otamamon, and he exhales roughly. "Something's wrong."

His partner nods, feeling it too. The others are scattered around, handling nearby blips on the maps their digivice provides them with, nothing too serious that they couldn't handle it individually, but still. Dean's rethinking letting them separate. Unfortunately, what's done is done and, despite his unease, things are progressing well. The flashing red lights are going out one by one, which means they'll be able to leave soon and-

An explosion. The earth shudders under his feet and everything goes topsy turvy as Dean hits the ground, blood trickling down his face from small, pinpricks of little cuts all along his eyebrow and up into his hairline. He groans and looks up, finding a small Digimon, only a little taller than Otamamon, standing with a hammer. He looks like a puppet without its master, wooden beams crisscrossing along his back, but there's a confident swagger about him despite his size and another strike of his hammer causes Dean to rear away in pain, his hands throbbing from where the hammer had struck. "Son of a bitch!" he yells out, Otamamon acting quickly at this.

Gesomon forms out of the bright light of digivolution and smacks Shoutmon away, the fused digimon almost laughing at the strike. "Not strong enough," he singsongs. "I'm coming for _you_ , Dean!" But Gesomon is having none of it, smacking away the hammer with his massive appendages, and then taking it further by thrusting one clear through Shoutmon, deleting him entirely. For his size, it's an enormous amount of data that pours from his disappearing body and Dean almost feels sickened by it before recalling- fusion digimon, two in one, all of that data needing somewhere to go. This is what happens when two creatures are deleted at once.

"Messed up," he mumbles, pulling himself to his feet as Gesomon dedigivolves. "What was that about?"

"I have no idea," his partner says. "But I'm glad I could stop whatever it is."

Dean hoists Otamamon up. Strokes his head while they wait for the others to join them. "Me too, partner. Me too."


	150. chapter 150

The digimon is tall. Towers over Alicia even when she still has her shoes on, and more so once she loses them in an attempt to flee. Red armor covers its body, it has guns instead of legs, and wispy, black whip like wings writhe out of its back. She doesn't know how to explain it but Palmon is frozen in fear and so is she, the sound of gunfire still fresh in their ears. The remaining Raw digidestined had ducked for cover, leaving her out in the open- she doesn't blame them, if she had acted any faster, she'd not be in this situation either, but here she is, and here this digimon is, and-

"Magna Kidmon, please," Palmon begs. "You don't have to do anything-"

This is met with derision, laughter. "Oh but I do," he whispers, leaning down to look them both in the eye. "And nothing, and no one can stop me!" More bullets rain upon the ground, embedding in the rocky outcrop surrounding them.

Palmon tries, she definitely does, fights through the fear and pain to digivolve and dash at Magna Kidmon- just to be rebuffed by firey attacks that leaves her screaming until she loses power and returns back to Palmon, her skin blistering and close to cracking into little pieces of data from the pure heat of the gunfire.

Alicia is sprawled out, barefooted and sobbing, when Magna Kidmon approaches her, tsking almost condescendingly under his breath. "Poor child," he mumbles, hoisting her up and taking off into the air with her.

After things have been quiet for awhile, the other digidestined make their way out and stare around at the ground, filled with spent bullets and casings, charred and smoking from all of the gunfire. "Alicia's gone," Enzo says needlessly, the others all thinking the same thing.

"Shit..."


	151. chapter 151

"Creepy happenin's goin' on, Cass," Enzo says quietly, trailing after his best friend.

"Yeah, Zo, I know," Cass sighs, keeping a sharp eye on the world around them. Seth and Alicia are missing, leaving the rest of the group on edge, expecting something bad to happen, and only growing more tense when it doesn't. He exhales and reaches out, lightly scraping his fingers through Enzo's messy hair, the wind and sand doing him absolutely no favors. Cass chuckles lowly when Enzo only grumbles but doesn't completely fall into fighting mode because of the state of his hair.

Hyokomon and Veemon are looking around, their faces pinched with worry, and Cass stops messing around, using his height to their advantage to also keep an eye out. They're still standing there, holding their breaths, waiting for something to happen, when a bird flies overhead, squawking. Enzo leaps up like he'd stepped on something sharp and Cass struggles not to laugh at him as soon as his heart stops racing too. Veemon exhales and releases an uncomfortable chuckle, Hyokomon's expression not changing in the slightest.

Cass is about to say something to his partner when he feels something against the side of his face, instinctively cringing away from it and grabbing for Enzo, pulling him away just before a silver trident stabs into the ground where he'd been standing. "Ho, shit," he chatters, eyes impossibly wide in his pale face. "The hell was that?!"

Cass shakes his head, eyes quickly scoping out the sky above them when he sees it, a red demon with purple wings, cackling down at them before throwing his trident once more. It stabs at Enzo's feet once more, Cass jerking him back roughly. "Hyokomon!"

"On it," his partner responds, lunging up into the air and digivolving into Buraimon. Not to be outdone, Veemon morphs into Magnamon and joins him, the two of them glaring at the evil digimon sneering back at them. "Boogiemon."

"You don't seem very impressed by me," the demonic creature says, pouting just a bit. "That hurts my feelings!" Lunging forward, he stabs his trident at them once more, just to miss and find himself directly between the two of them. "What the-"

Buraimon acts quickly, his swords slamming up and through, knocking Boogiemon's trident out of his hand and sending it spiraling through the air, digging into the ground and leaving a sizeable indent in the sand. Magnamon follows this by sending off sharp little missiles of light from his armor, each little pinprick of destruction leaving Boogiemon crying out in pain until his body gives up on him and he sinks to the ground, landing just a few inches away from his trident. When he reaches out desperately for it, Magnamon stomps on his hand with a dark little sneer that leaves him helpless and unable to move. "Stop," he groans, but Buraimon shuts him up quickly with one last swipe of his sword, Boogiemon quickly deleting.

"Good job," Magnamon tells him.

"You as well," Buraimon says, sheathing his swords and smirking as they walk sedately back to their partners.

Enzo exhales once they're all together again, still feeling a bit paranoid. _At least it didn't happen to us._ He glances over at Cass, remembering the dark cave, how it'd felt to be alone, losing strength and courage. _Again..._


	152. chapter 152

Mervamon is pacing again. Makes it hard to sleep. Think. Or do much of anything, honestly. Alicia groans pitifully on the floor, attracting all of their attention. "How is this going to work if we can't successfully get the others?" she mumbles, shaking her hands out in agitation.

"I don't know," Poseidomon says with no lack of impatience. "But we need to figure it out and soon."

Shadows are lurking, others interested in being involved, to try to not meet the same fate the rest had up to this point. Mervamon grits her teeth, rolls her eyes. "If you have something to say," she snaps, "then say it already. God."

Rustling follows this and finally a blue creature with green wings steps forward, intense eyes locked on them both. Poseidomon is unaffected but Mervamon finds herself somewhat intrigued, despite her general disinterest in... everything that's not power, really. "Let me go next," he says, grazing Alicia's motionless form with his sharp toenails. "I will... make it worth your while."

Mervamon swallows. Finds herself nodding. "Very well. If you think you can, then go ahead. Just remember they've already destroyed a number of us. And we are on something of a timeline here." Her heated gaze trails up and down his body quickly. "If you succeed, I suppose... I will have a reward for you once we've accomplished what we've set out to do."

His smirk is re-inforced by the smug tone of his voice when he responds. "I look forward to seeing what exactly that is."

He leaves and Poseidomon rolls his eyes. "Get a room before the rest of us become ill," he mumbles, watching as Mervamon ignores him and kneels down by Alicia, brushing some of the hair out of her eyes.

"Yes, you will do what I require of you quite nicely," she tells the downed woman with a sneer. "Quite nicely indeed."


	153. chapter 153

It had started off like any other trip to the Digiworld. The group of them slowly splitting up to handle business, Cass and Enzo talking like they always do, leaving their partners on edge... just for a sword to come out of nowhere and embed itself in the rock just above where Enzo is standing. He yelps and Cass immediately spins around, his heated gaze going left to right, trying to spot who it is- when another sword embeds at the sand in front of him.

So they're here, now, in this bizarre stand-still, Enzo breathing loudly while Cass tries not to think about the status of his pants. Their partners are trying to spot the culprit, do _something_ , when he shows himself without encouragement- spinning directly into Buraimon and slicing him up so drastically that he immediately dedigivolves, Magnamon quickly following suit when the same thing happens to him. They lay limp and helpless on the ground when Enzo hisses out, "Cass! Hey, Cass, I think-"

"Enzo, don't move," Cass interrupts him with a grimace. "Just... stay still a minute." He doesn't like being gruff with his best friend, even when he's at his worst, but sometimes he just needs Enzo to chill out, pay attention to something other than the words racing through his mind. For once, Enzo listens with only a bit of a sputter. It doesn't matter though, as Gladimon lunges at them, his swords flashing this way and that, risking cutting Cass to pieces before stopping short just shy of his chest.

Enzo lets out a faint hiss behind Cass, as if he'd felt the slight pressure and chill of the blade as well, but Cass is frozen, shocked speechless as he stares into the lifeless eyes of the creature before him who, for whatever reason, seems intent on having his blood on his hands. "Why- what-"

"Because you are a digidestined, what other reason do I need?" he demands before slicing his sword down, leaving small cuts in Cass' chest, blood welling up quickly and staining the ground below him.

All Enzo can do is watch, mouth agape, as his best friend falls back, unconscious. Despite his size, the digimon holds some impressive strength because the next moment, Enzo is looking up in time to see Cass taken away, just like that. Leaving him and their unconscious partners behind. "No, no," he mumbles, shock slowly melting into horrified anger.

"CASS!"


	154. chapter 154

Enzo clings to Veemon and Hyokomon, struggling to put one foot in front of the other. It hurts to leave this place, any sign of what might have happened to Cass, behind. There are deep gouges in the sand, there are drops of blood here and there, and... it's brutal. It's awful. He wants to cry but he can't because he has to hold himself together, find the others, get them to start the search for Cass. Like he had done when it was Enzo in danger, when it was Enzo missing.

His shoulders shake as he gasps for air, head starting to spin. He and Cass have been separated before, thanks to his concussion and his knee injury, but this... this is worse, this is possibly permanent.

He'd never seen Cass bleed before. Hyokomon is limp, pliable in his arms, and Veemon is about as lifeless, his sharp teeth gaping out of his slack mouth as he drifts in unconsciousness. Enzo sniffs and trudges forward a bit further, tempted to bury his face in Hyokomon's feathers and sob himself hoarse, but again Cass needs him, he can't fall apart. Not yet.

Maybe, maybe once Cass is found, is bandaged up, is standing before him with an affectionately annoyed look on his face, patting Enzo's shoulder as he talks and clings to Cass and all around tries to hold onto some strip of sanity. Maybe then. But not now. Not here.

They can't be far, right? The others? They have to be somewhere nearby, he's sure that they hadn't gone that far when Cass was attacked, was taken. Enzo swallows hard, continues to shuffle through the sand, the grass. "Please," he mumbles, his lips brushing against Veemon's ear. He hates being alone, being vulnerable. He needs to find _someone,_ something to ease this sharp discomfort twisting around in his stomach.

He's looking down, trying to focus on each step so as not to fall, not to risk the vague progress he'd made, when he hears something heavy land before him. It makes the ground shudder, almost causes him to fall anyway, and dread drains from the top of his head down to the tips of his toes in a nauseating circle.

He knows. Cass isn't getting saved today, not by him, at any rate. _Sorry, big guy,_ he thinks, looking up at the large, armor coated digimon standing before him with a wolfish gaze and his sword aimed right at Enzo's head. Expecting death, Enzo exhales shakily and lets the young digimon fall from his hands, squaring his shoulders and opening his wide blue eyes, opting to face it, whatever may come, like a man.


	155. chapter 155

Two weeks before Wrestlemania. Dean isn't sure what's more frustrating, that he's low-key injured heading into the biggest show of the year or that everything is falling apart in the Digital World leading up to it. Most of the Raw team's been abducted, gone, missing without a trace, and not a one of the Smackdown team's been bothered by anything, each and every mission going off easily. He's not sure what to think about it, staring at Owens as he chews on his bottom lip, clearly bothered by all of this more than he'd admit to. He's the last of the Raw group remaining and, although Dean has no interest in his distress, he understands it.

Not to mention Seth's missing too. Seth, with his injured knee and desperate attempt at rushing rehab just to be on Wrestlemania's card in some fashion. Dean exhales roughly and looks around at the others. "Let's continue looking," he says with authority- what a joke _that_ is, after everything- but they listen to him, heading out. He's trudging behind, looking between the thin air around him and his digivice, trying to locate _some_ sort of clue where everyone's at... when he feels something tickle his foot. He shakes it off and continues to walk, Otamamon chattering in his ear about this and that, when he feels it again. "What the hell!" he yells out, kicking wildly to get whatever it is off of his ankle when... he feels a sharp sting. "Whoa, shit."

Looking down, he finds it's an evil looking bug type Digimon, its stinger embedded in his skin. He wavers and Otamamon yells, hopping down to get at the creature- just to be entangled in silk string that start eletrocuting him. "Aaaah!" he cries out before his jaw and mouth are covered, keeping him from screaming any further.

Dean starts to waver, his strength failing him. "What ... are you, you little..." Before he can finish the curse, he collapses to his knees, and then falls the rest of the way, face first against the ground. He feels the creature crawling, shifting around, and then... somehow Dean is moved, carried away.

He wakes up in a dark cavern and hisses, unable to move, barely able to keep his eyes open. He can see, somewhat- makes out shapes and sounds nearby... and it doesn't take long for him to realize. Seth is laying directly across from him, unconscious and pale, but breathing. He alternates between relief at seeing he's alright, and anger at not being able to move enough to check on him properly. "Seth!"

Moving shifts his posture, makes it easier to see the others as well- Alicia is behind Seth, Cass and Enzo are crumpled a few feet away, leaning against a jutting rock. He squirms harder, wanting to say, do something, but it's all for moot. All he can do is watch and grit his teeth as the little bug creature makes his presence known, crawling up Dean's pant leg and staring up at him for a long moment... before covering him in a fresh round of his silk, which shoots off stabbing jolts of electricity that paralyzes Dean and leaves him in a half-daze before he feels the pressure of the creature's stinger once more and quickly falls unconscious as well.


	156. chapter 156

Now Dean's gone. Heath bites at his lower lip, staring out over the distance. The Raw Digidestined are all missing except for Owens, and now the Smackdown side is experiencing some losses, and... He's not sure what to think, where to turn. He wishes Rhyno was with him, but his tag partner hadn't been selected to become a Digidestined yet, so... He closes his eyes and exhales roughly, pressing his thumbs into his eyes.

He hears quiet footsteps behind him and offers a weak smile to Lopmon, who hops onto his shoulder. "It's awfully quit," he says lowly.

"Yeah. I don't like it," Heath mumbles. Silence is never good, especially when it comes to wild animals and weather. Just means something's around the bend, waiting to strike. He wants to be aware and cautious but there are so many thoughts running through his head that it's hard to focus, to sense what's going on around him.

It's almost _not_ a surprise when he hears a chittering noise behind him. He's just turned in time to look when something sharp and painful embeds itself in his neck. He staggers and feels his balance go wonky, every inch of him tingling as he stumbles back and hits the ground, staring up into the blue sky. He thinks he can hear Lopmon screaming his name but that falls silent too, everything goes dark around him.

"Shit! Heath, c'mon, man, say somethin'!" It sounds like Enzo. Hands are pushing on him, trying to get him to respond, to breathe, something, but he can barely think much less open his mouth... Finally he shakes some of the cobwebs loose, though, and finds strength somewhere to sit up. Grips Enzo's arm and grits his teeth against the tingling nausea hijacking his senses.

"What happened?" he finally chokes out, before gagging against the vile taste in his mouth. Water is offered and he sips it down desperately, looking up to find Cass sitting in front of him.

"We were all taken," Seth's gravelly voice says from somewhere in the shadows. Heath glances around and can see Dean, wrapped up in silk string, and Alicia nearby as well.

"Well, guess we should get this party started, huh?" he asks sarcastically, dropping back with a flop and a groan. "What got me anyway?"

"Little baby digimon called Budmon," Enzo says. "Poisonous barbs or somethin'. Had to pick 'em outta your neck. It was pretty nasty."

"Don't feel so bad though, Dean got caught by the same kinda creature," Cass offers before cringing, Dean's muffled growls audible all the way over here.

"Great, makes me feel a lot better," Heath exhales, closing his eyes. "Aw hell, what about Wrestlemania?!" he realizes, sitting up with a rush and automatically regretting it.

Enzo helps him lay back down. "Not much we can do about all'a that, I guess," he mumbles, clearly hating missing _another_ opportunity at the belt.

They're all still sitting there, ruminating, when there's a loud commotion and Kevin Owens, Miz and Dolph Ziggler are all thrown in, all in varying degrees of unconsciousness. "Oh great, the whole gang's here," Cass sighs, before going to help Enzo collect them all, take the best care of them that they can.


	157. chapter 157

"So. We're kinda screwed, huh?" Enzo asks, his eyes closed. He wonders if they've missed Wrestlemania yet. A mass disappearing act like this would surely raise some flags, but since they're all stranded on another world, there's little chance they'll be found in time.

"Kinda," Cass exhales. There's a line of them sitting by the wall, Owens camped out by the general place they were thrown in at, waiting for those responsible to return. Though Cass is starting to suspect that they're not going to return, that the group of them are going to be stuck here for the rest of their lives. He decides to keep that cheerful thought to himself, however.

Seth is feverish and listless. Dean tries not to panic, but that's impossible. He's mumbling things about wanting to regain himself by defeating HHH, and how much he regrets and... so many other things that Dean would rather ignore but can't, because dammit, once upon a time, Seth was his brother, and now two serious knee injuries later, they find themselves in this damp, dank cavern and Dean wonders if he has an infection or if it's just a standard illness. Otamamon and Betamon prove to be a lifesaver, maybe literally, as they take Seth's shirt, tear it into strips, and then drench it with Water Jet, pressing it against Seth's forehead and waiting patiently.

When he starts to bat at the wet coolness in protest, Dean takes over, holding it in place. "Calm down, brother. We're just gettin' you healthy again. Relax." When Seth stops fighting, his lips parted and a glazed look in his eye as he peers at Dean, it's a bit of a relief. When he falls back asleep, the fever starting to break, Dean _almost_ feels like celebrating. But first, to get out of this place.

Alicia, Heath, Miz, and Dolph are sitting in a loose circle, none that talkative. Lost in thought about what might be going on in the other world. "Hope my kids're ok," Heath says, which makes Alicia giggle helplessly.

"Maryse is probably losing her mind," Mike sighs.

"She's probably enjoying the silence, you mean," Dolph picks.

"I'm sure everyone's glad to have a break from you too, Ziggler," he snaps back. But none of them really have energy to argue so they quickly fall silent, none thrilled with the situation.

-x

It's quiet. The calm before the storm, as it were. There are discussions ongoing to figure out match placement, entrances, pyro, a number of other things. "So, Seth, you're going out with this lit torch?" one of the techs asks him, making a note on a piece of paper when he nods.

"Yep. Symbolism, you know?" He looks calm, if a bit flushed from a fever. His knee is still a little off, but better than it had been and he's looking forward to tonight. As soon as the tech leaves, his calm appearance fades and he smirks, raising his eyebrows at Dean as he passes him by. "I can't believe they're buying this," he says, his voice growing deeper and somewhat more angrier than Seth's.

"I know," Dean says, his voice a high pitched rasp. "Humans are stupid, it's almost going to be disappointing when we wipe them out of existence easily and take over this pathetic world of theirs."

The Digiworld had become something of a nuance to all of them. Unable to live peacefully with digimon and digidestined alike working against them. So when they'd learned of this spectacle called _Wrestlemania_ , it hadn't been difficult to work a plan out. Kidnap the digidestined, use a mix of their powers to change their forms into ones similiar to the humans, and then break through the portal and take their lives over. It had been a lot to learn for each digimon but thankfully with some mindreading mojo, it had been accomplished, and now they're here, intigrating themselves, preparing for this... Wrestlemania show.

Except that there are other digidestined afoot. Ricardo Rodriguez, and Wade Barrett, are both involved in nearby events. AJ Lee, CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio aren't far behind, for some reason. It's as if they've sensed something is wrong, had come here for whatever reason. The digimon are antsy in their borrowed clothes and their strange bodies. "What can we do though, really?" 'Dolph' asks, flinching when Zack Ryder comes up and slings an arm around him.

"Hey bro, long time no see!" It's a joke, despite his injury the two clearly still see a lot of each other, or at least did before Gattai Ancient Volcamon took over.

"Oh, uh, yeah," he stammers out, trying to make his voice sound more like Dolph's. It doesn't seem to attract suspicion, but still, it's a relief when Zack spots Mojo Rawley and runs over to greet him as well. "I don't have the patience for this," the high powered digimon hisses.

"We'll figure it out," Mervamon promises, playing with her recreation of Alicia's hair. "Just needs time."

But time they do not have. It's Wrestlemania week and 'Heath' quickly gets cornered by Wade in a bar just down the street from the hotel, wanting to catch up with his former Nexus teammate. Budmon is too young and inexperienced to understand human speech patterns, and even claiming he has a cold isn't enough to distract Wade. "I need a beer," he attempts to say in an awful sounding southern accent before taking his leave of the British man.

"I think we have a problem," Wade says into his phone as soon as Heath's out of sight. He _knows_ Slater. That most definitely was not Slater...

So, after the Hall of Fame has concluded later that night, AJ, Wade, Zack, Ricardo and Alberto meet up outside of the building. Alberto seems bored with the situation, disinterested in helping, but Ricardo speaks to him quickly in Spanish and he concedes, staring at them suspiciously as he lets Gabumon out of his digivice. The others follow with their partners and it's as if data calls to data, all of the creatures are tense, focused on the building before them. "I can sense them," Gabumon mumbles, his claws clicking together.

"Me too," Gatomon says, her teeth bared as Veemon and Renamon also show signs of displeasure, their eyes fixed on the door before them. Mokumon is the only one unconcerned, held protectively in Punk's grasp as he's never had the opportunity to digivolve, considering he's usually here, in this world and not surrounded by the organic power of his own. But even he perks up when the door opens and a mishmash of wrestlers tumble out, Alicia first, followed by Heath, Dolph, Dean, Seth, Owens, Enzo, Cass and Miz.

The group stares at each other, no one moving. "I was hoping we'd have more time than this," Budmon sighs, watching as his fellow fake Digidestined morph back into their own forms, readying for battle.

"Holy shit," Zack mumbles, Dolph becoming a creature with a volcano like formation on his back before his very eyes. "That's... so screwed up."

Seems to be the theme of the evening as Alicia turns into the wicked looking seductress of Mervamon, Cass into an armored ball-shaped creature holding swords, Enzo into a monstrous dragon with horns and deep claws, green cape billowing behind him. Dean's true form is a larvae type creature with no eyes, and Heath's is a michevious baby type digimon with pink horns, while Mike becomes a box robot like creature with two arms but no legs. "What is this, the Jetsons?" Zack mumbles, wincing away when Owens becomes a bipedal dog with rocket launchers all over his body. After everything, it seems only fitting that Seth's true form would be a water god, trident held at his side pulsing with purple power. "Poseidomon," Zack breathes out in awe.

They are drastically outnumbered, not to mention weaker because they're in the real world, but none of them are willing to give up. "Go, now, Renamon!" AJ calls out, relieved when her partner automatically digivolves to her highest form, the others quickly following suit until Shakamon, Vajaramon and Seraphimon are lined up before them.

The first volley of attacks takes out Budmon, Kunemon, Blikmon and Gladimon, while weakening Mervamon and Slayerdramon. Those remaining look at each other before facing off against the earth bound digidestined once more. "For that, you will all pay!" Mervamon squeeches, dashing at them with her hands extended, preparing for an attack.

To be continued.


	158. chapter 158

Things had started off so promising. Defeating four of the creatures pretending to be their friends had led to a confidence boost that had, ultimately, worked against them. Despite being somewhat less outnumbered by now, it's still five on three and soon, Shakamon, Seraphimon and Vajaramon are down, unable to move, or protect their partners.

Mervamon walks over and laughs at Ricardo and Punk, their digimon too young, too inexperienced to help. She reaches out for Mokumon and Punk's eyes immediately flash as he pulls the baby creature out of her range. This seems to only annoy her further because she claws at Punk's face instead, leaving long, awful looking slices along his nose, to his mouth. Ricardo receives much the same, and she painstakingly makes her way through the line of digidestined, leaving them all with some sign of her cruelty: instantly forming bruises, cuts, anything her warped mind can think of.

Kyubimon is struggling to get up, assist, when Slayerdramon lunges forward, slams her back down and threatens her with his swords of flame, the heat so intense that even AJ can feel it from as far away as she's standing. "Kyubimon," she sobs, reaching out for her partner but unable to do something...

They're all frozen in this fresh hell when the arena backdoor opens and everyone falls silent, looking up as Shinsuke Nakamura ambles out. He seems undisturbed by what's going on before him, breathing out loudly as he digs his hands into the pockets of his suit jacket. "What is... this?" he asks, his English still slow, a little faulty. He starts to laugh. "I recognize you. I recognize this. A digimon battle? Here? Brazen. But I cannot allow it."

For a moment, all that there is is a flash of flame and then some _shadow_ runs through each of the remaining evil digimon, leaving them dying as their skin boils and their screams rent the air before disappearing. Shinsuke then smiles at them. "You may find your friends easily now." Winking, he turns and leaves.

Zack swallows hard. "What just happened, bros?"

Everyone shakes their heads, the remaining digidestined rushing to check their partners, try to figure out what exactly this weird man could possibly mean for them.


	159. chapter 159

****

The answers come slowly after Wrestlemania. Once past the confusion and the pain, they all wrestle in their matches, from the Andre the Giant Battle Royal to the main event. Some win, most lose, and all in all it's a complicated, confusing evening. Despite his fever, Seth succeeds against HHH, Dean retains against Baron, and Kevin Owens defeats Chris Jericho.

The next time they meet up in the Digiworld, Luke looks calm. Pulled together. "It's good to see you all," he says, smiling at them. "Well, before we get this show on the road, I have a couple of things to talk to you about. First, Shinsuke Nakamura." Once the fog had dissipated and they could all think clearly again, they'd realized the NXT Superstar had been their savior. So now they all wait for an explanation, one which Luke eagerly provides.

"Back in the 90s, digimon broke through to earth. They landed in Japan and a group of children witnessed a battle between Greymon and Parrotmon. This led to them being chosen as the first official digidestined. They did well, for their ages, but when I took over Genkai, I was uncomfortable with forcing such a life and death situation on children. My next option was..." He looks at the wrestlers. "You all. You live the kind of life that families and friends won't notice when you're needed in the digiworld. Not to mention you're all brave and enjoy enough risk-taking to propel your digimon to the power levels they need to defeat the evil overwhelming this world."

The group exchange glances, still unsure how to feel about this. After everything they've endured, especially recently, they start to consider that they're perhaps at the end of their rope, the only thing keeping them coming when called being all of the digimon hurting and in trouble. Innocent creatures so similar to their partners, losing hope and suffering minute by minute. "So what do you expect us to do?" Seth asks, still a little off-balanced and pale from the lingering effects of his fever. "We were all just kidnapped and had our lives, our identities swiped. We had to stumble back into things like nothing had happened to compete in Wrestlemania and not risk causing more suspicion."

"I know, and I'm so sorry, I should've sensed something was wrong." Luke exhales. "But my next mission for you all is simple." He stares at them. "Now then I understand that WWE recently had a draft. This means it's time for a bit of a shuffling of you all."

Raw's group freezes, realizing what this means. "No way," Seth says slowly. When Luke confirms it with a nod, he curses lowly.

"It gets better, Seth," he says cheerfully, stepping forward with an arm full of red and blue shirts. The group watches him with trepidation, knowing what this means with the draft behind them as well. He wanders through them, handing Miz and Heath Slater brand new red shirts, and Kevin Owens a bright blue one. He shifts to the side, trying to catch Dean Ambrose's eye and chuckles wearily, unsurprised when the man stubbornly looks away. Finally Luke forces the red shirt into his arms and turns back to the others. "Even with the potential addition of Shinsuke, the groups are drastically uneven but don't worry about it, I have plans. Next week, your new group members will be with you. Now." He claps his hands. "Go home, rest up. I'll see you soon."

None of them are thrilled. Dean looks like he wants to tear his shirt to shreds before it even touched any more of his flesh, and the rest of the Smackdown guys look unhappy at having to leave the team, the show, they'd called home for the last few months. But nothing can be done about it so they hesitantly trudge towards the digiport and head home.


	160. chapter 160

"So," Luke says, looking from left to right at the group of Digidestined surrounding him once more. "Have you talked with Shinsuke Nakamura?"

Ziggler remains silent but Owens exhales roughly. "I did. I kinda know the guy, he's alright I guess." He runs his fingers through his short, spiked hair in aggravation. "But he's bein' really vague about this. Doesn't seem too interested. I'll keep trying." He casts a quick glance at the Raw team, which still far exceeds their own in numbers. "So what's the big plan, Luke? What're you gonna do about all of this?"

Luke steps aside and they all stare at the line of DIgieggs lurking behind him. "I have decided who I want the new team members to be. I am aware this means you will have to learn how to be a team all over again with these new people, but it is needed. I can't have a team of two or three, there must be more of you all. So, let me introduce your new teammates to you."

The digiport begins to glow as the rest of the group arrive. "Ah, shit," Owens groans under his breath, Ziggler not looking too thrilled with the prospects of it all as well.

"But wait," Seth says. "If the Smackdown team is the one who needs help, why..." he points into the group of wrestlers, "Is _he_ here?" Austin Aries looks as confused as anyone else surrounding him and Luke exhales.

"I was planning on adding one or two new wrestlers to each team before the draft anyway. So with Shinsuke being added, I was planning on putting Austin on the Raw side. He's still there, but that means one extra person will be added onto Smackdown's side with a space left for Shinsuke, because I'm sure he will come around with time." Turning to look at the confused men and women still lurking, Luke tries to smile at them. "Hello. Welcome to the Digiworld. This is a world comprised of data, where creatures reside. Sometimes they are good, and sometimes they are evil. You are here because of the evil ones. We need your help to defend villages that are overrun with these creatures, and sometimes keep them from causing destruction on earth."

Midway through the explanation, Carmella reaches out and grips the arm of her friend/unrequited love interest. "Jimmy, what is he talking about?" she hisses. "What kinda bad dream _is_ this?"

He touches her hand and shakes his head uncertainly. "I'm not sure, Carmella, but don't worry, I'll protect you."

She smiles weakly at him while Chad Gable and Jason Jordan talk rapidly behind them, examining the Digiworld and getting more and more excited as time goes by. Tamina stands off to the side, her arms crossed over her chest as she takes it all in. Weighs what she's already heard, and the things she's seeing. "Is this where AJ Lee would disappear to a few years back?" she asks simply, not surprised when Luke nods. "I thought that was suspicious, how she couldn't tell me." She sniffs and stares around. "So what do we do now?"

"I give you your digieggs- they will hatch into your partners in time- and you all may go home. The Digiworld is thankfully quiet for now. I will summon you as soon as you're needed." The new Digidestined line up and are handed small eggs of various color and design before looping back around to leave in the Digiport with the others back to earth, all still a little uncomfortable, not entirely sure how they feel about where their lives are abruptly going.


	161. chapter 161

"I don't get any of this," new Digidestined Austin Aries declares as he holds onto his digiegg. "So what, I'm supposed to go with you all to this other world, fight evil creatures, and save both earth and it?" He scoffs. "When am I supposed to wake up again? Because this is clearly one very vivid, very annoying attack of my subconscious."

"I wish," Cass exhales as Enzo hovers near him, chattering and making motions with his hands and doing all of the usual hyper, anxious Zo things until Cass lays a hand over both of his, stilling him in a way that only Cass can manage. "But nope, this is real life. As real as it can get."

Aries seems unimpressed at this, looking around at the others. "How long has this been going on?" he demands. "And none of us figured it out?"

"Been a few years by now," Mike says. "Three, I think." He exhales gustily. "You should've seen the early days, Punk was supposed to be our leader but when he left WWE, Luke had to scramble and his partner was left to fend for itself, turned evil and nearly destroyed everyone. That was a lot of fun."

Austin shakes his head. "Why do I always get trapped in the weird shit?"

"Well, it's not like you're alone in that," Seth tells him simply. "Lots of us have been dealing with this for years by now, and we just suck it up and do the best we can, because that's really all we can do. Raw AND Smackdown guys. So it'd be nice if you could pick up the slack and help out while we all adjust to this post-superstar shakeup weirdness, but if not, whatever. We've survived this long without you, we can survive awhile longer."

Aries sneers at him, looks like he's about to say something that will further along the tension, but then there's a flash of light and the digiegg he's holding onto gives a violent shake. "What- what's happening?" he demands, blue eyes so wide and focused.

"I think it's hatching," Betamon offers cheerfully, the group of them holding their breath and watching as sure enough, the shell finishes cracking apart and, once the glow of new digital life subsides, all they can do is stare at the white creature with two ear-like things poking out of its forehead as it peers around at them all.

"Pi- pitch, pit..." it intones anxiously, trembling in Austin's palm as he gapes at his partner.

Something comes over him and he softens almost immediately, stroking the little guy like it's a pet cat that he's finally gotten to interact with after too long. "Well, hello there. I guess I'm you're digidestined partner," he says in a voice so quiet and soft that the others wouldn't believe it was him if they didn't see his mouth moving in time with the words.

Seth smirks at Enzo and Cass, the three of them relieved that, so far at least, one of the new digidestined looks like they'll be alright in the long run.


	162. chapter 162

"Have you heard from him?" Ziggler asks, surveying the group of Digidestined and very, very young digimon before them, all looking wide eyed and confused as they examine the world before them. He doesn't have much hope with the two of _them_ trying to help the new members before them survive, but maybe if Nakamura would actually pull through and assist since Luke seems to think he has some experience in this whole digidestined mess... well...

But his hopes are dashed when Owens shakes his head. "You're the one on his ass every Tuesday night, you tell me."

"I try to talk to him and he just smirks at me and leaves me behind after some stilted English. I don't know, man. I've tried everything short of being, you know, nice." The two of them shudder at the thought of it and Dolph digs his fingers into his pockets. "I wish kid was off the injured list already, he's really good at being stupidly charming and making people listen to him."

"Well, we can't fall back on your _bestie_ this time," Owens says with more than a little disdain. "I guess we're stuck with you." He claps a condescending hand on Dolph's back and turns to look over at the others. "In other words, we're screwed."

Before Dolph can respond, his digivice lights up in his hand and he stares down at it, brows furrowing. "Hey, Owens-" There's a rapid, angry, red dot spreading along the map around them, a nonstop cry for help that only seems to be moving with each second. "What the hell? Is my thing broken?"

"Mine's doing the same thing," Kevin says, frowning. "What is going on?" He's just barely spat the words out when a monstrous wind blows over them, sending most of them cowering down as they struggle not to get blown away. "Holy shit!" Kevin looks up just in time to see a wall of flames erupt before him, scrambling away. "Bearmon!"

"Impmon!" Dolph calls out too, crawling forward and grabbing at James, Carmella and Tamina from where they're sprawled out a few feet ahead of him. "Are you guys ok?!"

"Ye- yes," Carmella chokes out. "Jimmy, are you-?"

"I- I'm ok," he says, trembling. "Tamina?"

"Fine," she responds, looking dirty and a bit scratched up after tackling the other two down and protecting them with her body but all in all, alright. "What _was_ that?"

Owens is surveying the rest of the area, checking in on Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, who are slowly regrouping. "It was a fire Digimon, I didn't get a good look at it, just a flash of pink before it was gone."

"Pink? So maybe it wasn't anything serious-" but just as soon as Dolph says it, more flames erupt between the two groups, Carmella and James yelling and panicking while Owens grabs Jason and Chad, pulling them further away from the danger.

A large, pink dragon type creature lands before them, eyes flashing angrily as he stomps on the ground, roaring viciously.

"What is that?!" Tamina yells over the noise, gripping James and Carmella protectively while her own partner chatters with the other baby digimon clustered around, trying to make themselves as small as possible while they're unable to defend themselves properly.

"Holydramon," Dolph says. "But he looks... different..."

Roaring loud enough to rock the entire world around them, he dives forward, black claws swiping at them all, and Owens backs up, pushing Jason and Chad out of the way as well. Ziggler is doing his best to keep James, Carmella and Tamina moving out of the line of fire as well, which isn't working too well with both members of Carmellsworth frozen in fear and Tamina not doing much better. Tiring of being on defense, they try again. "Digivolve!"

Gryzmon and even Beelzebumon look pitiful next to Holydramon X-Antibody's rage, Gryzmon batted away within moments, skidding against the ground and dedigivolving back to his baby form, a small creature covered in blue and white fur. Beelzebumon holds on a little longer, shooting at the dragon with his pistols, but the digimon barely flinches before sending a line of fire at him, engulfing him almost fully before he screams in pain and collapses, dedigivolving back to Yaamon.

Dolph swallows hard, scrambling forward and collecting his partner as soon as the fire eases off, staring up at Holydramon, who is much, much too close for his likeness right now. "What do we do?" he demands, hugging his partner close.

Holydramon X-Antibody sniffs disdainfully before leaning down to look Dolph right in the eye, his warm breath against Dolph's face only adding to Dolph's stress as he considers his life ending right here, right now. "Dammit-"

Holydramon is clearly rearing up to attack when-

"SUNFIRE PUNCH!" Holydramon is thrown back by a massive, flame-enshrouded creature with massive paws and a furry mane that whips around Dolph, the aftershocks of the heat brushing against his skin as he gapes on in awe. There's a device on the creature's shoulder, collecting solar energy, which seems to feed into its flames, and even Holydramon falters when he sees his new opponent.

"Where did he come from?!" James yells out and Dolph shakes his head, having no good answer for that.

The latecomer stands up straight and looks over his shoulder at them for a mere second, a smirk on his beast-like face before he forces his fists out, more flames shooting out around him. "SOLBLASTER!" More flames, more heat, an orb forming over his head from the solar energy before slamming forward, impacting with Holydramon and digging into his vulnerable flesh until he screams, the energy burning straight through him and leaving him hovering there, data slowly streaming from the wound as he deletes before them, agonized bellows echoing through the late afternoon sky.

As the last of his data disappears, Tamina tugs Carmella and James to their feet, leaning down to scoop their partners up and handing them around. James hugging Choromon close while Carmella tickles Nyokimon along her body, exhaling shakily. Across the way, Jason and Chad are reuniting with their partners as well, while Kevin and Dolph examine their partners for any serious wounds. Other than looking melancholy at being beaten so easily, all seems fine, so they turn their attention back to the stray digimon. "Hey, who are you?"

He smirks. "Apollomon." He turns and walks off, dedigivolving as he goes into a smaller beast still covered in flames. The Digidestined all watch on in confusion as he pauses by a rock formation, someone tall and familiar coming out from the side of it.

"No way," Ziggler mumbles, eyes narrowing as he takes in the unmistakeable form of Shinsuke Nakamura from where he's resting his hand atop the creature's head, seemingly unbothered by the flames pulsing out of his head.

Nakamura looks up and smirks at them, not moving towards them as he talks in low Japanese to his partner.

"How the hell did he even get here?" Owens grouses. "We all have to go as a group, and he can just come and go as he pleases?"

"Apparently so," Dolph grumbles. "I hate him."

Nakamura, however, is the pure sign of nonchalance as he lifts a hand and waves at them, teeth flashing in the sun overhead as he grins toothily, turning to leave.

"Oh my God, would you go stop him?" Owens demands, pushing Dolph forward. "We need him, he's got this insane strong digimon and we can't even keep ours from dedigivolving to baby level. Move it!"

Dolph closes his eyes, his pride taking a huge hit as he follows through, chasing Nakamura to the digiport. "Hey! Stop! Shinsuke!" he says it mockingly, unable to help it, and Nakamura turns, tilts his head curiously while Dolph leans over and plants his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath after running this distance to grab him before he disappears into the portal. "Look, I don't like you, you don't like me, but we _need_ you. We all could've died there, and then what? Clearly you can come and go whenever you want, if it doesn't work, you can just leave us behind, but come on, man. This is as close to begging as I'm going to get."

Nakamura speaks in Japanese to Coronamon a few moments longer before shrugging, casting his eyes skyward. "Why not," he says slowly. "I've always enjoyed... a challenge." His smirk infuriates Ziggler, but some of the stress leaves him as they walk side by side back to the group of digidestined.

"Told you I could get him to come around," Ziggler boasts to Owens, who rolls his eyes.

"Of course you did."


	163. chapter 163

****

Choromon is tiny. Like, it fits in the palm of James' hand and still has room to spare. It looks metallic and, judging by the little bolts of electricity coming from its tail, he thinks it might be kind of similar to Pikachu, maybe. He's not sure what's happened to his life- like being with Carmella in any capacity isn't ridiculous enough, now he's on this world made of data, carrying around a small creature who could probably stop his heart with one of the jolts of lightning bursting from its skin at random intervals.

He murmurs to the little guy now and again, not sure what to say, as the others walk on ahead of him. Carmella is nearby, patiently waiting for him, and he flushes upon realizing, jogging to catch up with her. He's about to say something to her when there's a shout in Japanese and everyone looks up, startled as Nakamura, who had been leading the way, stops their forward motion with an arm outstretched.

"What is it?" Dolph asks impatiently, Owens also looking displeased at this disruption. They're about to step past Nakamura when there's a flash of color, flames tickling through the grass surrounding them, and then an earth shattering thud as a familiar creature crashes down in front of Nakamura, flames whipping around them.

It's Apollomon, but it's not, a look of anger and disgust on his face as he stares down at Shinsuke. "We warned you," he says coolly. "What would happen if you returned to this world, if you tried to become a digidestined again. Once exiled from here, you are not welcome again. I don't care what that program _Luke_ thinks. You are not wanted here. LEAVE!" It's devastating, the power of the blast he shoots out at Shinsuke, but it doesn't reach its mark as Coronamon rushes forward and absorbs the heat and power, standing there and all but swallowing down the blast.

The tense standoff that follows has the other digidestined holding their breath until Apollomon kneels down to be face to face with Nakamura. "This is not over. We will continue to come, again and again, until you give up and stop tarnishing our world with your presence."

Nakamura holds his own until Apollomon disappears as quickly as he'd arrived, the others standing in shock and awe, staring ahead as if expecting something else to occur.

James is the first to speak, his partner jittering around in the palm of his hand, letting off little squeaks that hurt his head and heart in equal measures. "What the hell was that?"


	164. chapter 164

"What kind of teammate is he?!" Carmella is ranting to James, the two of them picking through some foliage a ways away from the others. James hadn't wanted to go off, their partners still little more than babies, but she was determined and he wasn't going to leave her alone here. So he'd allowed her to take his hand and drag him away, absorbing the heart-stuttering sensations teasing up his skin with every touch of her fingers against his. "Just looks at us like we're trash 'cause we keep gettin' attacked due to _him!_ " She scoffs and holds his hand tighter, walking faster like her anger gives her energy to go further, say more things.

He completely believes it too, but he likes it about her. He'd always been so lowkey and simple, the kind of guy that most didn't think had it in him to make it far in wrestling, but with her supporting and encouraging him, he'd grown a little more confident, had been able to assist her in certain high profile matches. And sometimes, when she smiles at him, he believes that she likes him just a little bit too.

"Are you listening to me?" she demands, turning to look at him with her hands on her hips.

"Of course, Princess," he says, hands up in what he's hoping is a reconcillatory motion. "Nakamura's the worst, I agree. We could've died because of him."

She seems pleased by this, reclaiming his hand and continuing to walk towards a lake that had caught her eye. That is, until his dead weight stops her and she frowns, turning. "James, what-" She stops short, seeing a gleam of blue as a creature stares at her, its claws biting into James' shirt, spikes protruding from its back and draining all of the color from Carmella's face as she takes in how close everything is to vital parts of James' anatomy- the claws close to his chest, teeth close to his throat, and the spikes... well, the spikes are just too close to _everything._ "Pyocomon!" she calls out and her small partner, shaped like a flower bulb with purplish blue leaves sprouting out of her head bursts forward and blows bubbles at Gizamon, causing him to yelp and dig in deeper.

"Carmella," James trembles, frozen. She still has his hand, and it's the only thing keeping him together as he grips her as tightly as he dares. "Please-"

"James, stay strong, I'll get you outta this," she promises, even though her voice is shaking as she stares helplessly at her partner, at the digimon that looks like any movement it took could be fatal for poor James, her digivice a heavy weight in her hand. "Pyokomon! Digivolve!" It doesn't work and she hisses, finally storming up to James and gripping Gizamon by the spikes. It is surprisingly cool and when the digimon hisses at her, she barely flinches, determined to free James.

"Princess, no," James grunts, thrown off-balanced by her attempts at freeing him. "He'll- he'll hurt you-"

"Or he'll hurt you," she insists, digging her heels into the ground and putting as much weight into it as she can. Which, considering the awkward angle, and everything else, isn't much. "Let go, dammit!" Gizamon hisses at her, spitting all over her, and she recoils, briefly, before gripping him once more. "You can't have James! Let go!" She screams as suddenly a bright light washes over her and she tenses, expecting something awful to happen- but instead, a pollen washes over her and she sneezes slightly before relaxing, calm and almost doe eyed as Gizamon too is affected, dropping his grip on James and scurring off with a quick squeak, diving into the water in a surprisingly graceful move.

As soon as they can all breathe normally again, James turns and grabs Carmella, staring into her eyes. "Are you ok, Princess?!" She nods dazedly and he exhales roughly, hugging her tightly. "He could've hurt you."

"Or you," she breathes. Then pauses. "Where did that pollen come from?"

"From me," a soft, but familiar voice speaks from behind them. Carmella and James' eyes widen as they turn to find Floramon staring back at them. "I'm Pyokomon, or, well, I was. I digivolved, Carmella, thanks to your determination to save James. My pollen can make people lose the will to fight, so Gizamon was quick to leave once I calmed him down a little." She giggles and then squeals a little when Carmella picks her up and hugs her gratefully.

James smiles down at them, tilting his head when Choromon peeks out from his shirt collar, making funny little noises.

"I'm so glad you're ok," Carmella tells him, gaze intense as she stares up at him. "I couldn't breathe when I thought about..." She closes her eyes and looks away, shaking her head before squaring her shoulders and facing him once more. Cupping his face with one hand, she smiles up at him and leans in, softly kissing him. "Come on, let's go back to the others."

He's drowning in a bunch of emotions, relief to be able to go back to the others where they'll be safer, and the lingering feel of her lips on his, the subtle taste of her against his skin. "Ye- yeah, let's," he breathes, smiling when her hand easily slips into his and guides him back the way they'd come.


	165. chapter 165

"This is so sick," Chad Gable says, looking around the massive world, untouched by most man-made things. "JJ, look at that-" He waves a hand at the purple sunset, smiling as his tag partner looks up as well.

"Ridiculous," he exhales. "I don't even know what to say about all of this." Chad's hand is warm against his shoulder, Jason relaxing a little bit at his proximity. They both have little creatures in hand, Jason's a little white blob with a smile and dark eyes, and Chad's red with large eyes and small horns on top of its head, gaping up at him. They seem to be chattering back and forth between each other, never really saying anything understandable to Chad and Jason. "It makes sense that our partners would only be able to understand each other, huh?" he asks with a short laugh, poking Poyomon with a gentle finger.

"Yeah, sounds like how people would describe us sometimes," Chad chuckles, patting Punimon carefully. They'd bailed from the others, needing a minute to adjust to this new reality, see what's going on around them... They're still watching the sunset when something heavy lands behind them with a solid thud, Chad freezing as he hears a familiar fluttering kind of noise. He turns slowly and pales, eyes widening. "Um. JJ?"

"What is it?" he asks, not bothering to turn to look.

"Turn... turn around," Chad finally chokes out. Jason sighs, not thrilled to look away from the beautiful sky, but eventually does so... just to turn ashen as well. "JJ-" They're clinging to each other, to their digimon, trying to stumble away when the creatures with the bug like pincers approaches them, making clicking noises with each movement of its claws.

"Shit," Jason exhales, all beauty from this world wiped clean from his mind as he tries to get away and bring Chad with him. "Shit, shit, shit-" They're unable to look behind them, not wanting to take their eyes off of the monster... and then it happens- Chad's ankle snags against a root and he falls backwards, taking Jason with him, and they gape up at the creature, swallowing hard. "Chad-"

"Jason-"

"You've been the best tag partner I could've ever asked for," Jason chokes out, nails digging into Chad's sleeve. "You know that, right?"

Chad nods, still scrambling against the ground for purchase, for a weapon, something, anything, unwilling to give up. "Feeling's mutual, JJ," he chokes out, coming up empty and staring on in horror as Okuwamon X-Antibody approaches Jason first, claws extended like he's about to tear into his partner without any hesitation. Chad shakes his head, his chest hurting at the thought of it ending like this, and he rolls, covering Jason's body with his own, burying his face in Jason's neck- hoping that his body would protect Jason from a mortal wound, give him time to escape.

Worst case scenario, at least he won't have to watch Jason die. This thought rolling around in his head, he clings to Jason and tries not to cry, listening as the creature continues to lumber slowly towards them... and then it all stops, Jason gasps and Chad looks up, a confused look crossing his face as Okuwamon freezes, letting out a squeech of pain as his body begins to dissolve into pieces of data. "Whoa, what-?"

They slowly get to their feet, Jason absentmindedly dusting Chad off, watching as a tall digimon with a massive blade coming out of his left arm steps away from the insect like creature. "Who is that?"

"I don't know." They gape, worried that now they'll have to deal with this new digimon but, when he turns around, he gazes at them curiously.

"You shouldn't leave your group behind," he says, voice low and deep. "Especially when your partners are still so vulnerable and young. You all must help each other." Shaking the last couple pieces of data off of his blade, it disappears into nothing and then he takes to the skies, leaving the bewildered digidestined behind, agape.

"Well, you heard the man," Jason mutters after a moment. "Let's go back."

"Yeah," Chad exhales, lingering behind him as they return back to Luke's.


	166. chapter 166

Unfortunately for American Alpha, the path back to Luke's isn't safe either. They're barely halfway across when there's a loud squeech and pillars of bedrock shoot up before them, blocking their path, tripping them up. They gape at it, turning to glance at each other in a _Oh Hell, now what?_ kind of way. They're still sprawled there when a digimon appears, moving around them on its four legged body with an obvious cat-like grace. She laughs at them. "Ooh, fresh digidestined with their baby digimon partners... how precious." Licks at her paws and bares her teeth at them.

Jason can't help but stare at her tail, which ends in a bizarre yellow ball, or the purple spikes protruding out of her body. She has red claws and one white wing, one black wing. Poyomon keeps chattering anxiously and she scoffs, tapping it in the nose with her claw. "Shut up," she says coolly, smirking when Poyomon immediately falls still on Jason's shoulder. "Good, you're capable of understanding grown up speak." She smirks at Jason, at Chad. "Oh, silly humans. Don't look so concerned. I'm not here to fight you. Not yet at any rate. It's no fun at the moment. But trust me, the instant I think you're ready, Duftmon Leopard Mode will return. And then... the games will begin." She purrs at them before disappearing as quickly as she'd appeared.

Chad grimaces, looking over at Jason. "Why are we attracting so much weird attention right now?"

"Hell if I know, man," Jason grunts, patting Poyomon and helping it to relax. "Let's get back quick before something else happens." They resume walking, careful to avoid the pillars still stabbing out of the ground. After a few moments, Chad speaks again.

"Hey, JJ?"

"Yeah, Chad?"

"I think that other digimon was right- we really should never leave the group."

Jason barks out a pained kind of laugh. "Yeah, man. I think so too."


	167. chapter 167

Not much impresses Tamina anymore. She's been all around the world, seen almost everything possible. But here, now, staring out over the vast nature of the Digiworld, she finds that she is. It reminds her of home, a little, Hawaii's simple warmth, and quiet breezes tickling through her hair. But she has other things on her mind right now, shaking away the homesickness as she stares down at the Digimon in her arms. It's a little creature, with wide, black eyes piercing into hers, and she smiles vaguely. "So your name is... Puwamon, right?"

"Pu pu, puwa!" her partner agrees, squirming around. The others have all left, to explore or make sense of all of this and Tamina sighs, not sure how to feel about being left alone with such a young digimon and no other defenses in this odd world, but she's never been the kind to rely on others so she squares her shoulders and continues to walk forward, Puwamon babbling in her arms.

Tamina's sure steps falter, however, when she sees monstrous imprints in the ground before her, gripping Puwamon tighter. "Uh oh," she mumbles, turning to head away from the signs of life before her... just to feel her entire body freeze. She blinks. "Why- why can't I... I..." She can't move, can barely breathe. Something's drawing her in and she turns slowly to look, finding herself gawking up at a large beast with massive claws, purple emblems swirled into his white flesh, nothing more than thin membranes holding his appendages to his body. "What are you?" she chokes, trying to cling to Puwamon as she cries pitifully, obviously also feeling this pull.

He laughs, an awful kind of strength pulsing through his body, drawing her closer. "Soon you will be part of me, Digidestined. Soon all of them will be." His voice is echoing, awful, leaves her with a headache from the pure force of it. "Then I will be invincible." He licks his lips. "I can taste it," he breathes out, eyes flashing.

She tries to dig her heels in, attempts to run away, but nothing is working. Her body is unresponsive. "Please," she mumbles. "Not like... not like this..." She closes her eyes, thinking of her daughters, and shakes her head. "I can't..."

As suddenly as it'd arrived, the sensation fades away. She's frozen, but now because of herself, not because of some outside influence. When she opens her eyes, there's a shadow behind her, blocking out the sun, and the creature before her yells out in shock before there's an explosion, sending her back into something strong and muscular. She chokes as a white arm wraps around her and for a hysterical moment, she thinks she's been caught by the evil digimon, but then she's placed gently onto the ground, her knees too shaky to hold her weight so she sinks down into a kneel position, looking up.

It's another tall, white armored creature with purple wings and golden claws, but he's barely looking at her, waiting for the smoke to clear to reveal that the creature so determined to absorb Tamina is gone. As soon as this is done, he kneels by her. "Are you ok, digidestined?"

She nods, tries to wet her lips. "What _was_ that?" she asks, strained.

"Parallelmon," he explains. "My name is Dynasmon. Thankfully I was flying overhead and observed what was happening in time to help. Are you both alright?" Puwamon headbutts Dynasmon's hand when he reaches out to stroke her and Dynasmon smiles, smoothly moving away from her. "Good partner. When you're older, you will be a very reliable line of defense for your digidestined human."

Tamina feels a little more with it now, tilting her head as she examines him. "Thank you for the help. I think we'll be ok now. I should get back to the others." She stands up and dusts her pants off, exhaling roughly as Dynasmon stands up to his full height once more.

"If you don't mind, I may follow you until I see you're safely with your group," he tells her. "No reason in taking chances, hmm?"

She exhales. Nods. "I suppose you're right." She offers him a rare smile. "Thank you again." She's about to turn and walk off when something clicks with her. "By the way, my name is Tamina. Since you've already told me yours."

He nods. Teeth flashes as he grins down at her. "Right. Nice to meet you, Tamina."

"Nice to meet you," she says, still a bit subdued from everything. "C'mon, Puwamon. Let's go tell the others what's happened. I think we're gonna need to all keep an eye out..." As she walks back towards Luke's cave, Dynasmon's shadow follows them as he flies overhead, but it doesn't worry her. In fact, it's a comfort and even Puwamon seems more relaxed as they trudge back through the sand towards where this entire mess had begun for them.

Most of the other digidestined are there, explaining their own adventures, when she arrives and, deducing that nothing of great importance is being said, interrupts. "I think we have a problem, guys."

"Oh great," Ziggler groans loudly, Owens' brows also furrowing in exasperated worry. "Now what?"

To her relief, they all fall quiet and listen to her story, Dynasmon's fading shadow in the distance confirming her words. "Crap," Owens mumbles. "That... is so, so bad."

If the look on everyone else's faces are any indication, they all agree with his simple deduction.


	168. chapter 168

Dean looks unimpressed. Doesn't like adjusting to a new team, to new teammates, none of that. Not to mention he'd gone from being Smackdown's leader to being just another cog in the wheel on Raw's team because Seth is the leader here. He thinks Owens is probably Smackdown's leader, which eats at him about as badly as everything else, but he knows there's nothing he can do about it right now. Instead he opts to distract himself by pointing out the two new members of their group. "What are they doing here?"

Seth looks up with a frown, realizing what he means right away. "Oh, yeah. Aries is injured-" There's a sharp, bitter kind of laugh from one of the two, but Seth ignores him, barreling on through. "So Luke decided since Smackdown also has Nakamura now, we needed these two to even our teams out." He points at Neville and TJ Perkins. "I know you guys have problems, but we're here in a strange world, and things get dangerous quick so if you can't be helpful, then just avoid each other. If there's a fight, I will inform Luke and he'll do... something. Understand?"

"This sounds promising," Dean mumbles, watching TJ absently stroke his digimon partner, Neville ignoring his with a rough scowl on his thin face. Sighing, Dean checks his digivice and isn't surprised to see all kinds of red alerts on the map. "Where are we going?"

Seth steps up to him, peeking at his digivice over his shoulder- as if he'd forgotten that Dean hates when people do that kind of thing- and points to a nearby dot. "Here. Looks like Smackdown's team has a couple of these handled."

"Why don't we split up too?" Dean asks him tensely, tilting his head as Seth looks up at him, weighing his words.

"I'd be for that, but not with Neville and TJ still learning what they've been thrown into." Seth taps him on the arm and walks off, seeming oddly comfortable in Dean's presence. He guesses it has to do with their teaming up a few times on house shows. Exhaling, he shrugs, trying to ease the tension out of his body, before turning to the others. "You heard the man, let's go." He still has some influence on the formerly Smackdown guys because they immediately move, following Seth along some plains until he stops short between two villages, looking around. "See anything?"

"No," he mumbles, still trying to pinpoint where the spot is exactly. "Huh. It looks like it should be here, but-" Before he can say or do anything else, there's an odd rush of wind and cherry blossoms begin raining down, leaving Seth biting his lip as he looks up, feeling swayed by the beauty.

"What is that?!" Dean demands, his voice not enough to snap Seth out of whatever fugue he's in. "Attack, Otamamon!" he orders his partner, watching as his partner leaps up and over, water blowing through the blossoms and sticking them together, causing them to drift harmlessly to the ground below.

When the attacker finally appears, landing easily on Seth's head, Dean can only stare. It's a... toy, almost. Wide, childlook blue eyes, a bright gi wrapped around its body, a fan in hand, and bright yellow gloves. "Whoa," he mumbles. It's quite the sight. "Otamamon!"

"Got it!" Gesomon doesn't seem strong enough to any of them so WaruSeadramon appears, even snags his lengthy tail around Seth and pulls him away, the digimon making a deep noise of protest as it rolls off of Seth and lands on the ground, smile unwavering despite its sudden change in position. WaruSeadramon tries to attack- lightning, ice, anything possible, but it all gets sent back to him with a wave of his fan.

"Shit," Dean mumbles, struggling to keep an eye on both Seth and the battle. "What can we do? This guy is gonna send everything back like it's nothin'-"

His words die away when MegaSeadramon comes from behind where Tonosama Mamemon and WaruSeadramon are trapped in this pointless dance, more lightning hitting him in the back and sending him forward, WaruSeadramon lunging forward horn first and impaling the creature, deleting him immediately. Instantly, Seth collapses forward and shakes his head, confused. "What happened?" he mumbles, eyes closed while Dean kneels by him. "I think this thing's cherry blossoms could possess people, you weren't with it at all for awhile there."

Seth winces, rubs at his head. "That explains why I have this headache," he exhales, squinting over at Dean. "Was it me, or..."

"Or?"

"Did that Digimon kinda resemble Ellsworth?"

Dean thinks about it for a minute, then laughs loud enough to echo through the immediate area. "Now that you mention it," he sighs, standing up and offering a hand to Seth. "C'mon, let's get out of here before something other decides they want to possess you."

Seth nods, takes ahold and hoists himself up with some support from Dean. They stare out at the group, most of them looking a little freaked but all in all not too concerned. Except for TJ, whose eyes are wide and fixed, and Neville, whose lips are tight and pale. "Everything's fine, guys. Let's go back to Luke's now."

Dean and Seth exchange glances on their way back to where they'd started, knowing it's going to be a long road until they're all on the same level with this Digimon stuff.


	169. chapter 169

Kevin Owens isn't sure what's worse. Being stranded on a strange world, surrounded by people wanting to kill you... or being stranded here with a bunch of people too stupid to listen to you when you say "Stay with the others or you'll die a painful, gruesome death that consists in dying of data energy here. Do you want that?"

They all shook their heads, but here we are. Kevin alone trudging from one indication on the map shining off of his digivice to the next, demanding they regroup by Luke's. He's just came across the last on his list- Carmella and James Ellsworth, when he realizes they have a decent reason for not responding to their digivices. A monstrous blue digimon with a crown hovers over them, looking like he's already attacked a few times, if their wet bodies and faint shivers are any indication. On top of that, James is bleeding from his forehead and Carmella seems unnaturally worried about him, gripping his arm whenever he moves like he's about to get up.

It's an Otamamon X-Antibody version, Kevin hears Bearmon mumble and wonders what Ambrose would think of this before quietly instructing his partner to move. Of course Carmella, tiring of holding onto an ailing James, rushes forward then and gets in Otamamon's face, lecturing him about who she is and how dare he do this to her, to James to- Otamamon's rearing up to headbutt her when Gryzmon intercedes, pushes Carmella away none too gently and takes the damage on full force.

Carmella screams and James instinctively reacts, grabbing for her, but the damage is already done- Gryzmon's eyes glow as he repeats the damage done to him back onto Otamamon, his claws then slashing through Otamamon's body, causing him to delete immediately. She and James gape, holding onto each other numbly from the ground until Kevin joins them. "Stop sitting on the floor, we have to move," he snaps, relieved when both actually listen to him and get up, following him back towards Luke's. They're unnaturally quiet and he's mostly pleased with it. But they're a team, and the two of them, and all of the others, all have to act like it if they want to survive.

"Next time I tell you both to stay still and not move until I return, what are you going to do?" Owens asks, stopping short and not even grunting when James walks straight into him.

"..We're gonna stay where you tell us to," Carmella mumbles, eyes downcast.

"Exactly. I hope you mean it, or else," Kevin tells her grimly. "I know it's a beautiful world with a lot of impressive sights to see, but there's also a ot of evil waiting for the chance to destroy you. So you need to keep yourself safe, in case something like this happens again."

Carmella and James exchange glances. "Right. Of course," he says, squaring his shoulders destpie how he has to squint his eyes just to focus on Kevin. "We'll make sure to follow your suggestion. Right, Princess?"

"Yeah sure," Carmella sighs. "Can we please just go home now."

It takes another twenty minutes for htem to find Luke's and relay the message, glad that most of the others had listened and arrived here. "I suppose as soon as Ziggler arrives, you all can leave whenever you want," Luke tells them.

It's music to Kevin's ears.


	170. chapter 170

Shinsuke looks bored. Ignores the scattered whispers behind him as he stares down the bird type Digimon with a crown on its head and a bush with flowers sprouting out of it growing from his back. He's dealt with similar creatures in the past, they are nothing but nuances, throwing things and acting tougher than they truly are. So he flicks his fingers at Coronamon. "Firamon," he says simply, holding his digivice loosely as his partner digivolves.

Firamon is a four legged beast with determined eyes and wings, fire licking from his legs and face. He roars loudly and lunges after Coronamon, body turning a vicious red before he catches flame entirely and tackles Delumon, burning him and sending him flailing around, pecking in distress as his coding destabilizes. "NO!" he screams, throwing flaming articles around. Firamon blocks what he can, but large pieces of burning wood flies towards the digidestined, seeming to only grow in intensity as they gape at the flying debris.

Nakamura seems to glide around, slapping the burning pieces of wood away like they're nothing, before turning his attention back to his partner. "End this now," he says, his heavily accented voice somehow only making his words sound more somber, his eyes flashing as Firamon turns back to Delumon.

"FIRA BOMB!" he yells out, the flames pouring from his skull forming a bomb and exploding against Delumon's scorched body, finishing the job as he deletes from the pressure of the explosion.

The Digidestined look startled and uncomfortable from it all. Zack nudges Dolph, his lips twitching. "I guess with him around, we won't have to do too much from now on, huh, bro?"

In contrast, Dolph doesn't seem too thrilled with the prospect. "God modded idiots," he mumbles, turning away so he doesn't have to look at Nakamura.

"Aw don't be like that, bro," Zack calls out, following him as he storms away from the group to held back to Luke's so he could get home, away from this.

Shinsuke seems unbothered by the looks the others are shooting at him, leaning over to pat Firamon before nodding at him, his partner dedigivolving back down to Coronamon before the two of them walk side by side towards the others. "Let's go home," he says, walking past the group and heading in the direction Dolph and Zack had disappeared to.

Owens hoists his belt up higher and sighs. "Ziggler can have all of the bitchfit he wants about it, but I'm more than ok with letting Nakamura handle all of the problems in this world," he declares to anyone listening as they walk towards the cavern Luke lives near.


	171. chapter 171

"So that's it, huh?" Heath asks, looking around as he trails along after Neville, ignoring the disdain on the other man's face. "Aries is done?"

"Apparently," he spits, unimpressed with the conversation. "I suggest if you want the latest gossip you should go talk to TJP, he seems to know it all and what he doesn't, I imagine he will gladly make up for you."

"Nah, I'm fine," Heath says. "Sides, it doesn't feel right leavin' ya alone out here, if something should attack-"

"I'd be more than capable of handling myself, I promise you," Neville snaps, glaring at Heath as his doubtful gaze rests on the form of Neville's very young, very little partner.

"Either way, I'll just hang around a lil longer-"

"Get out!" Neville screams at him but Heath, used to years of emotional abuse much worse than that by people he actually cares about in this business, doesn't even flinch.

"Hey, man, c'mon, just tryin' to help you out here," Heath says, his eyes wide and sincere, the complete reverse of the glower Neville is shooting at him as he stomps away. Realizing that Heath still hasn't given up, Neville kicks at some bushes, barely having a minute to step forward when there's a rough howl from within the foliage, a dog like creature rushing out and heading straight for Neville. "Ah crap-" Heath is fast, as gangly and awkward as he can be, and he pushes Neville out of the way- just to take the creature's attack himself, hissing out in pain as Dogmon's teeth dig into the flesh of his arm.

"Heath!" Lopmon cries, quickly spinning forward and smacking the maddened creature off of his partner. "Are you ok?"

"I think," he mumbles, trying to slow the bleeding. "Kinda glad Wade ain't here, he'd never let me live this down."

Without even asking, Lopmon digivolves into Moosemon and, ignoring Dogmon's howling, gets nearly nose to nose with him and roars as deafeningly as possible, immediately shutting Dogmon up. "No more hurting humans," he snaps, stomping out with his hooves and sending Dogmon flying. One more stomp and the beast is deleted, leaving Moosemon much more comfortable now that he knows Heath and the others are safe once more. Making his way over to Heath, he lightly nuzzles at his arm, licking calmly at the wound.

"Uh," Heath says. "Ya might cause infection..." But instead, Heath blinks as he finds his wound already closing up, the flesh knitting back together. "But how... I didn't think you could do that," he sputters.

"I have holy blood coursing through me," he explains before dedigivolving back to his Lopmon form. "I suppose it makes certain things easier for me to, especially when it's to help you, Heath."

Heath blinks, flabberghasted. "Well, what d'ya know." He ignores the look on Neville's face when he reaches out and claps him on the back. "Let's go regroup with the others, then. I've had enough drama for one night."


	172. chapter 172

Neville makes for a solitude figure, sitting near a mountain top, overlooking the surroundings. Really, when you find the right places, the Digiworld isn't that awful. As long as nothing attacks you, and no one bothers you. He actually thinks he would like it here in any other situation. But the situation he's in right now isn't one of his own making, he'd been all but forced into it. "Chosen", as Luke told him a few days ago.

He scoffs. "I may be chosen, but I have absolutely not chose this in kind." Getting to his feet, he makes his way slowly back down the mountain, picking his baby partner up once more and staring down at Popomon warily. "Will you ever grow into something worthwhile?"

The further from the mountain he goes, the more of the others he sees- Heath, and Miz... even Alicia and TJ, their heads together as he shows her pictures and videos of his pig, trying to cheer her up after Noam Dar's brutal betrayal of her. He scoffs at them, walking angrily past them and ignoring their gazes on his back as he makes his way towards Luke to demand answers. He's almost there when he feels the heat at his back and turns sharply to find TJ and a large bird digimon behind him, alit in flames. "What do you want-?" he's just demanded when the creature waves its wings and flames wash upon Neville, scorching the earth around him. He coughs and crouches, trying to breathe. "What is this?! You-" More flames. Licking at his flesh and his lips part in agonized screams, something holding him down, pinning him.

He can hear voices through the flames, but they seem far away, meaningless. He tries to fight, thinks he gets a good shot off, but the fire is still eating him alive and he can't stand the pain. "Please," he chokes out, tears filling his bitter eyes and pouring down his face, just to evaporate in the heat surrounding him.

"I don't know," a familiar sounding voice breaks through his agony. "But he's not going to hold on much longer, you have to figure this out now!"

More yelling, more fighting. More heat. Neville sobs harder, curling in on himself, and he swears it feels like something- someone is trying to comfort him. Then suddenly something snaps. He blinks and the flames are gone, he's curled up against something, crying as the after effects of whatever was causing him so much agony fades away, leaves him laying there.

"We got it!" Ambrose yells overhead.

Neville makes an undignified noise before looking up. There are _massive_ digimon near the mountain he'd just come from, and he can only imagine that they're the mega levels of some of the digidestined. If he can guess, he'd say Ambrose, Alicia, Miz, and Slater, based on who's scattered around closest to them. The group are talking about some obscenely powerful digimon named Xuanwumon, who apparently had been hiding on the mountain he'd climbed and used some sort of hallucinatory agent on Neville without him realizing.

He closes his eyes, exhausted beyond belief, before remembering he's laying on something. Someone. He blinks up to find TJ still sitting there, a pensive look on his face, and Neville quickly scrambles up, realizing. "What were you doing?!" he exclaims, realizing that all of his most vulnerable moments were just witnessed by probably his least favorite person on the entire roster- and really, that's saying something.

"I thought you were dying," TJ says simply, eyes dark and locked on him. "You were screaming and crying, and... I just tried to comfort you until they could figure this out."

"Why?" Neville croaks out, not understanding anything.

"For awhile there, I thought we were friends," TJ says simply, getting up and dusting his pants off. "I might've been wrong, but I still don't... like seeing you suffer." He walks off without a backwards glance, leaving Neville to gape after him in confusion.

He's still sitting there when Popomon hops up to him, settling in his outstretched hand. He stares down at his partner and swallows hard. "I... I suppose you will just... grow when you're ready to, hm?" He gingerly reaches a finger out and strokes his partner's head, watching it light up under even this brief ministration.


	173. chapter 173

Dolph leans against the rocky outcrop leading away from Luke's zone, watching the various Smackdown Digidestined walk around. Zack is nearby, playing with Patamon, and glances over at him when he exhales. "Hey, bro, what're you up to?" he asks, lifting Patamon up and giving him a little extra height when he flutters his wings.

"Just thinking, kid," he says, casting a glance down at Impmon before facing Zack. "I'm considering some changes, but that's neither here nor there. Let's see what's on the map today, ok?"

Zack nods, his brows furrowing. "Ok, bro." He pulls out his digivice and examines it. "There's a couple, but I think this one is the worst of the two." The red gleam over the village on the other side of the map is brighter, a little shaky as if the situation is destablizing rapidly. "We should check this one out."

"Looks like it," Dolph agrees, calling out to the others. "We have a mission, guys."

Those with digivolved partners use them to transport the others and they stare around at the village, once a calm, prosperous place. Now it's wreckage, buildings sliced into pieces and data thick in the air. "Damn," Dolph mumbles as the group of them approach. "This looks... pretty awful." They've seen some bad things during their time in the Digiworld, experienced even worse, but this is close to the top of the list.

Seraphimon nods from where he's holding onto Zack, Beelzebubmon hovering near him. "Where should we begin?" he wonders. They approach the village, Apollomon following right behind with Shinsuke watching closely. They've just entered when a rotating flame cuts between them, Zack and Dolph both relieved when their partners move quickly, just avoiding the worst of the heat. "Who's there?!"

The three mega level digimon move in circles, keeping an eye out for the origin of the attack, Zack, Dolph and Shinsuke hopping off to make sure their partners aren't distracted by trying to protect them from wayward attacks. "So," Zack says, glancing around at the other digidestined with partners still in baby form who had been kept behind for safety reasons. "Everyone ok?"

"Yes," the group choruses, anxious and a bit impatient with what's going on around them. "How long will it be until we can help in situations like this?" Chad asks, a little off balance without Jason with him.

"I'm not sure," Zack says. "You have to wait until your partners digivolve. It'll just happen when they're ready. Just be patient and keep safe, watch us. It'll work out."

None of the newer digidestined look thrilled at this but Zack has already spent too much time out of the village, so he returns and looks around. "Anything?"

"No," Dolph says. "It's been quiet." They glance around some more, Shinsuke flying overhead on Apollomon's shoulder, looking down at the village below. "Anything?"

"No, I see nothing," Nakamura yells back down at them. Zack and Dolph have just exchanged glances when there's another wall of flames dividing them, sending Apollomon careening down to the ground.

"Shit," Dolph exclaims, he and Zack running towards where Nakamura landed hard. Zack leans down and checks on the man while Dolph casts another look around, trying to spot the flames. "Beelzebubmon, go look!"

The partners both rush around, trying to find the cause of these attacks, this damage, before Beelzebubmon freezes where he's standing and stares down, confused, at a drill like sword protruding from his midsection. "Do- Dolph," he chokes out. Before he can say anything else, the sword is pulled back out and he collapses, Seraphimon moving just in time to grab him before he hits the ground.

"Zack!" Seraphimon screams, settling Beelzebubmon down carefully and lunging towards where the sword came from. "SEVEN HEAVENS!" Holy energy crashes down all around, burning into every possible hiding spot, before his sword appears in his hands and he lunges forward towards where he senses that the most impact had occured. "EXCALIBUR!" He hits paydirt, the sword going straight through Grey Knightsmon's body and cleaving him in two since he's already weakened from the earlier attack, deleting him immediately.

Seraphimon takes in a deep breath. Lands heavily on the ground and walks slowly over to Beelzebubmon's limp form, Dolph and Zack kneeling near him. Nakamura looks a little worse for wear, and Coronamon seems to be unconscious, but the digidestined is on his feet, and it's better than nothing.

Seraphimon drops down next to Beelzebubmon and rests a hand on his chest. "I would heal you," he says sadly, "but my power is pure and yours is steeped in darkness... and I am unsure what affect it would have on you. It might make things worse for you."

"I refuse to change," Beelzebubmon says weakly. "I will accept... this... end." He looks at Dolph. "I was leery of having a partner. But you were a good one. Never forget that." His hand shakes in Dolph's grip, but they ignore this and Dolph nods weakly.

"You... were the best partner I could've asked for," Dolph tells him. "This has been some of the best and frightening moments of my life. Thank you for that."

Beelzebubmon smiles at him, an expression that looks so similar to Impmon's that it's painful. Especially when he shudders and data pours faster from the wound in his chest. He deletes slowly, eyes fluttering, and Dolph holds him for as long as he can until he disappears into a pile of data that drifts away on the wind. "Dammit," Dolph breathes, Zack reaching out to touch his shoulder. "No... not like this..."

They sit there for awhile, Zack pressing his forehead between Dolph's shoulderblades to try to support him, when Dolph speaks up. "My plans... I think I'm going to be leaving WWE soon... which means I won't be able to come to the digiworld anymore." He sniffs. "I guess maybe that decision is what brought this on. My losing my partner. I was going to abandon my responsibilities, I deserved this. But Impmon... he didn't..." He closes his eyes, shakes his head.

"Neither of you did," Zack says, pulling back to look at him. "You're really going to leave?"

"I think so, kid," Dolph exhales. "It feels like it's time."

They're still sitting there, silently considering all that's happened in the last half an hour, when data particulars begin to reform in Dolph's hands. He blinks and stares down. "Is this...?" They've seen it before. When Alicia's partner was deleted, when Ricardo's partner was destroyed in battle.

"I think so," Zack says, leaning in to get a closer look as a black digiegg with red stripes finish forming. "I think Impmon's getting a second chance, bro."

Dolph sniffs. Wipes his eyes. "What timing." He hugs the digiegg to his chest and looks at Zack. "I guess I can join the rest by becoming an earth bound digidestined."

Zack nods. "I... I'm gonna miss you, bro."

"I'm going to miss you too, kid." He forces a smile, hugging Zack with one arm and his digiegg with the other.

Things may change a lot in the coming weeks, but he thinks Zack will always be his best friend, and Impmon will always be by his side in one way or another.


	174. chapter 174

Alicia stares over the skies of the Digiworld, hugging Lillimon as they hover. "I don't feel so great," she admits to her partner. "I'm glad we were allowed to find a mission to deal with on our own."

"I'm sorry Noam hurt you," Lillimon tells her. "You deserved better." She flies a little higher, allowing the wind to play with Alicia's hair. "But he'll get his, I have no doubt." She hugs Alicia closer and then swoops down, smiling when Alicia lets out a small woop of surprise, squeezing her tighter. "I've got you," she says softly. "You're safe."

"I know," Alicia says, undisturbed when her partner starts flying in circles. She rests her head on Lillimon's shoulder and closes her eyes, enjoying the sensation of the wind in her hair, the weightlessness of it all. "This is nice."

"Yes, it is," Lillimon agrees, staring down at the village they're heading towards. "Hang on, I'm gonna land in a minute."

"Alright." Alicia tightens her grip a little more and peeks down as Lillimon eases down to the ground. She's just touched the pavement below when- an energy ball strikes Lillimon in the side and sends her flying to the side, Alicia landing hard and looking up in time to see Silphymon appear out of nowhere, laughing mockingly at them.

"Poor Digidestined, fall down, went boom," the creature says mockingly. "Yah!" Twisting his wrists around, he creates a tornado and sends it after them, Lillimon struggling to get to her feet and cringing against the pain spreading through out her body.

"Alicia!" she cries, finally diving forward and grabbing her partner, shielding her from as much of the tornado as possible. Alicia grips her and closes her eyes, trying not to cry at the intense pressure of the wind. Lillimon whimpers as they're buffeted around, the wind finally dying away and leaving them motionless against the ground.

"Lillimon!" Alicia cries, sitting up and grabbing her bloodied, battered partner. "No, no, no-"

"I'm ok, help me up," Lillimon grits out, struggling to her feet with some assistance from Alicia's shaking hands. She looks around and, upon spotting Silphymon, holds her hands out before her. "FLOWER CANNON!" Alicia has to hold her up as she aims and fires desperately, following Silphymon's rapid motions across the grass, trying to confuse them. "Left, Alicia, left!" Lillimon yells, finally getting a hit in and tripping Silphymon a few feet forward, sending him face first into a wall.

He grunts and tries to get up but is met with an impressive amount of vines protruding from Lillimon's skin, stabbing through his armor and searching for vulnerable flesh. He screams out as he's stabbed in multiple places by the sharp attack, little trickles of data pouring from his body. "No, not like this!" he screams, trying to attack again just to get met with another blast of energy from Lillimon's hands. Alicia watches in awe as he deletes, his body slowly crumbling in on itself.

"We should check on the village," Alicia says, not wanting to return to Luke's just yet. "Dedigivolve, I can walk us back."

"Are you sure?" Lillimon asks, not having much choice as her weakened body fades into the smaller form of Palmon, which Alicia picks up and hugs gently.

"Yes, I'm sure," she says, kissing the top of Palmon's head. "Get some rest. I'll take care of you like how you took care of me. We'll be back with the others before you know it."

Palmon smiles up at her. "You're the best partner I could've asked for, Alicia."

"I doubt that," she murmurs, watching the digimon fall asleep, almost midword. "But I know you most definitely are more than what I deserve when it comes to partners being incredible."


	175. chapter 175

Cass has no interest in walking with the others. They're all grouped around Enzo, casting quick glances at him, and he suspects Big Show has requested they keep an eye on the obnoxious twerp who is absentmindedly stroking Veemon's head. He scoffs and stares down at Hyokomon, who has seemed to have taken his change in demeanor at ease, not bothered either way by his human partner's attitude. Apparently he prefers being separate from the others as well. "Come on," Cass mumbles and they go a different direction than the others. There's a red dot nearby that Cass decides to investigate.

It's not a village, but just a beach. With a bunch of unconscious digimon dotting the land. Cass feels a little bit sick, staring at them all. Wondering if they're dying or just weak. Remembers, sharply, the sensation of having Enzo's life in his hands, threatening Big Show that if he took one step closer, he'd break his neck. He huffs, flexes his fists and looks around for the cause of this devastation. Something flakes down, sticks to his hand. He blinks and stares down at the rust-colored shard before looking up. "Hyokomon, digivolve," he says tensely, even Grademon not enough to make him feel better about this situation.

Rust Tyrannomon is a huge dinosaur with its rust colored gun aimed right at them, his eyes dark and fixed on them as he tracks their movements. Grademon's evolution doesn't seem to bother him. In fact it becomes a moot point when he shoots right at the digimon, knocking him down. Knocking him out like the others. "I sense darkness in you," he tells Cass. "I like it. It smells... delicious..." He lumbers closer and Cass grits his teeth. Enzo had been his light, Enzo had been the insufferable part of him that always wanted to do the right thing. But Cass had grown tired of doing the right thing for such little reward and had cast his former friend aside. He has no regrets, even now.

"We could have fun together," the monstrous digimon says, breath putrid against Cass' skin.

"What do you have in mind?" he asks, his gaze reflecting the darkness in Rust Tyrannomon's gaze.

The digimon laughs in response. Aims his gun at Hyokomon and fires cruelly. "I believe you have a new partner now," he says.

Cass isn't sure it works like that but, as Hyokomon's data washes over him, purifying him of one more connection he had to the world, he finds he doesn't mind.


	176. chapter 176

Jason frowns. Lifts Poyomon up and stares into his partner's eyes. So much has changed for him in such a short amount of time. First, he'd learned Kurt Angle was his biological father. Then he'd been thrown into the deep end of this Digital World drama, and... now, split from his tag team partner and moved to the Raw brand by Angle... He closes his eyes, squeezes the malleable body of the digimon and exhales slowly. "I don't know if I can do this," he breathes out, running his thumbs briskly over Poyomon's skin. "I don't know if I want to do this."

Poyomon keeps squeaking and repeating its name and, not for the first time, Jason wishes that the little guy would've evolved already so he could have someone to talk to. As great as Angle's been through all of this, he can't exactly talk to him about this world, and things are still awkward with Gable after his abrupt departure from American Alpha, so that's a no-go too. He closes his eyes and buries his face into Poyomon's warmth when there's a movement behind him and he jerks around, looking up to find Cass lingering there, an odd look on his face. "What do you want?" he asks warily, not liking the look on his face... nor trusting him after how he'd turned on Enzo. Not that Jason has much room to talk, but he doesn't approve of betrayal like that.

"Looks like ya've got a problem, and I can help ya fix it," Cass tells him, his dark eyes locked on Poyomon in a way that Jason doesn't like at all.

"Where's Hyokomon, man?" he asks, glancing around for Cass' partner and seeing no sign of the bird-type creature.

"Don't worry about it," he says dismissively, a blank look on his face that makes Jason do _just_ that.

"Something's wrong with you, man," he says, trying to put distance between them- go elsewhere, do something just to get away from the piercing stare that Cass has fixed on him. "Maybe you should try to talk to Enzo, he might be able to-"

Cass' laugh is ugly. Bitter. "Enzo? That loud mouthed freak? No, absolute not. See, for the first time, I'm _free_. I'm myself! And you're free from your former so-called partner too, you should be jumping at this chance." He pushes past Jason's defense, grips Poyomon and hoists him up, staring the Digimon in the eye, some sort of power thrumming through his huge hands. "Stop being weak," he snaps and just like that... Poyomon glows. Poyomon grows.

He skips a level, Jason is sure, grows straight into Rookie, a wispy creature with piercing blue eyes and brown fur along his back, blue along his legs. "Tapirmon," he breathes out, watching as his partner turns to stare at him. A kind of darkness about him. "What did you do to him?" There's no sign of Poyomon's sweetness about this creature.

"I made him what you needed," Cass smirks. "You're welcome."

Jason swallows, certain that he does _not_ like the sounds of that at all. "What do I do now?"

"If you're smart," Cass says slowly, "you stop panicking over nothing and come with me."

Jason watches him walk surefootedly away, the first sign of confidence he's seen in anyone really since arriving on Raw. "Fine," he mumbles. Watches Tapirmon, surprised and a little relieved when his partner turns and follows them. He may not fully recognize him anymore, but at least _someone_ on his side is with him through whatever Cass is leading him to.


	177. chapter 177

Miz laughs. "I tried to tell you all. He fails as a Digidestined, and then he falls apart in the wrestling ring. The guy's worthless." Jason's gone missing. The others are worried, but Mike, not so much. Well, Cass also is gone, and Enzo doesn't seem so thrilled about that, his eyes wide and darting around, but he keeps quiet.

Mike is still laughing to himself when the others grow tired of hearing him and leave, heading for the next spot on the map bleeding red, another village in need of assistance. He blinks once he realizes he's alone and moves to follow them- just for the wind to pick up mysteriously. He pauses and looks around- just to be thrown onto his back, blinking up at the blue sky overhead. "What the-?"

Monodramon takes over his vision, tries to push him up. "I think we're in trouble-" Then _he's_ blown away and all Mike can do is gape. The wind is coming from a white bodied humanoid creature, eyes covered by a mask, and both hands holding up a large pinwheel that seems to be trapped in perpetual motion from the wind that it's constantly funneling out. "Mike! I need to digivolve!" his partner cries, Mike quickly finding where his digivice has skittered, and holding it up.

Justimon flies gracefully, dodging the worst of the wind, and strikes at Jet Sylphimon, just for there to be a hideous squeeching noise as their attacks collide, the pinwheel pinging with every rotation against his spike. Mike cringes but forces himself to watch as much as he can, the two creatures so fast, so agile that it's hard to keep track of them. "Come on," he mumbles, forcing himself upright once the wind dies away, moves to a different spot. "Justimon, you can do it!"

His words die away as there's abruptly an explosion and Justimon crashes nearly at his feet, Jet Sylphimon landing in front of them with a cold, cruel laugh. "Oh, yes, Justimon, you can do it!" she mocks him, leaning over and embedding her pinwheel into the ground.

Mike sees red. After being disrespected so thoroughly at Summerslam- forced to wrestle first in a nearly empty arena, his title belt going undefended, this creature... saying _anything_ against him or his partner... doesn't sit well with him at all. He grips his digivice and stares at her coolly. "Justimon," he calls out. "Get up!" There's power thrumming through his fingertips, funneling through his digivice, into his partner. "Come on, Justimon!"

His words, his strength, all of it finally fuels Justimon, who gets to his feet and glares at Jet Sylphimon, who for the first time since attacking them looks fearful. "Jet Binter!" she cries, monstrous gusts of wind issuing from both arms as she aims them at Justimon.

He barely flinches. Flies up, past the gusts, and dashes right at her. "VOLTAGE... BLADE!" The power is ridiculous, slices through her clean, and she deletes right then and there, data lost in the wind that's still cycling this way and that as a result of her latest attack.

Mike breathes easier once she's gone. Once he and Justimon are safe. "I told you you could do it," he says. "Let's find the others." Not even bothering to return to his Monodramon form, Justimon walks side by side with Mike to look for the rest of the digidestined.


	178. chapter 178

Things are slowly falling apart. Seth knows this, has sensed it for awhile. Cass' odd disappearances, Jason Jordan acting stranger and stranger since his abrupt split from Chad Gable to be put on Raw to be with his newly found father. It leaves him feeling uncomfortable, shifty. He's the leader of the Raw Digidestined team and he doesn't like any of this. He can't really get in touch with Chad regarding Jason so he does the next best thing and pulls Enzo aside. "I think I need your help with something," he says.

Enzo blinks. Points at himself, then at Seth. "You need _my_ help?" He smirks. "Sure, Seth, whatever I can do to help."

"It has to do with Cass." Immediately Enzo's smug pleasure fades away. He slowly starts to shake his head, backing away, but Seth grips his arm, using their size differences to his benefit. " _Listen_ to me. We both know he's injured, and won't be part of the team for awhile, but something's been off. And I don't mean just his turning on you. He's been different here too, not part of the team and-"

"That's just Cass anymore," Enzo shrugs. "He hates everyone. Dunno what you want me to do about it."

Seth exhales. "I get why that's your POV. I do. But I think there's something else going on here. Would you at least think about helping me figure this out? Make sure there's not something else going on with Cass?"

Enzo shrugs. Exhales. "I'll think about it. I ain't making you any promises though."

Seth nods. Tries to remain unbiased. "Alright, man. Just... let me know, yeah?"

Enzo nods, wandering off. Seth watches him for a moment before turning to look at the others. "Think we're on our own here, guys. Let's see if we can find him." Normally Cass wouldn't even be here, injured people being urged to stay back on earth, but he had snuck in with them to the digiworld. Luke had noticed the extra energy counter on his digivice map shortly after they'd arrived and informed Seth quietly. So instead of searching for new villages in need of assistance, they now need to figure out what's happening with their injured teammate, why he came against everyone's advice.

He's not that far away, his mark on the map large and angrily pulsing on Seth's map. He leads the way, through a desert area to a volcanic portion of the world that's so hot that they all begin sweating as soon as they set foot in it. No one seems thrilled, and less so when they're all immediately wiped out by an attack from an unseen digimon, flames and flakes of brown raining down upon their vulnerable forms. Seth grits his teeth against the pain, trying desperately to brush it off of his skin, before looking up.

Cass, dragging his injured leg along like he's barely aware of it, stands behind a huge, rusted looking digimon. "About time you all bothered to show up," he drawls. "Meanwhile I see good ol' Enzo is nowhere to be seen." He laughs bitterly. "Of course not. Worthless joke that he is. Leaves you all to fight his battles for him. Well, we saw what I did to Big Show when he tried to stand up for Enzo." He points at Rust Tyranomon. "GO!"

Rust Tyranomon shifts. Aims his gun at them and fires, electromagnetic waves barreling towards them. It pins them down, keeps them from digivolving or getting any hope for offense or true defense against the weapon. More flames wash over them and they're all at Cass' mercy, Seth trying, struggling to be heard over the attacks, coughing every time he inhales some of the smoke coming from the rust-colored flames. "Cass, c'mon, man- this isn't you!"

"Yes this is! This has always been me! It will _always_ be me! I'm tired of being overlooked, overwhelmed by Enzo this, Enzo that! He never knows if he's comin' or goin' and I'm sick of having to follow suit!" Cass screams. "And bein' a Digidestined? That was never me, I don't understand any of this stuff! Why should I care about a world made of data?" He slings an arm out, tears apart some of the dry ground and lets it drift from his fingers, now nothing more than particles of data drifting in the wind.

Seth gapes at him, trying to get Betamon the strength he needs to digivolve, to do _something-_ when there's a yell from the right, and Cass turns towards it instinctively, just for Enzo to launch himself out of nowhere and land on top of Cass, knocking him over and distracting Rust Tyranomon from his nonstop attacks. "Seth's right, this ain't you!" Enzo screams into Cass' face, pushing him down, digging his heels into Cass' bad leg, anything to keep him down, keep him vulnerable.

Everything stops, all eyes on Enzo as he hoists something beautiful and gold over his head. A digiegg- something Seth's never been so happy to see in all of his life- that promises great things as he yells, "Veemon, it's all you, my man!"

Veemon steps forward then, already glowing in the power of digivolution as the egg flies from Enzo's grip and fuses with him. "Veemon... armor digivolve to... GOLDVEEDRAMON!" The digimon are almost comparable in size now, GoldVeedramon sneering at Rust Tyranomon. Flames ricochet off of the freshly evolved creature and he sneers, throwing a harsh right hook that catches just perfectly with Rust Tyranomon's body, causing quite the noise but also sending him flying backwards. GoldVeedramon continues the assault, repeatedly pummeling him and stabbing through every blast of rusty flames shot at him as if they're nothing.

Rust Tyranomon roars out in frustration, trying to land a solid direct hit with his cannon, but GoldVeedramon responds by breathing out golden flames from his mouth, melting Rust Tyranomon's cannon. "NO!" Rust Tyranomon screams, his voice echoing oddly and leaving everyone cringing.

"Rust Tyranomon!" Cass yells, trying to get out from under Enzo and failing. "Let me go! He needs me!" But there's nowhere to go for either digidestined or digimon, Enzo holding on tightly, and then-

There's a flash of light. An armored creature with contrasting wings of light and darkness appears, surveying the battle before him. He hovers, whisps of clouds issuing from his body, before brushing his hands over Cass' foreheard, then Rust Tyranomon's. "Goddramon," Cass says in a daze before falling limp under Enzo, Rust Tyranomon completely dedigivolving back to Pururumon.

"Wha- what just happened?" Enzo asks, staring up at Goddramon.

"I am Goddramon," he says. "I have been watching you both." He looks from Cass to Enzo. "There is something... something lurking, looking for weaknesses in the digidestined. You must protect yourselves as best as you can. I have done what I can today." He hovers over Enzo, looks at GoldVeedramon. "You will be fine now. But it may not last." His gaze shifts to the other digidestined, to Seth and the others, still regrouping from Rust Tyranomon's attack. "Be wary. Keep an eye out."

He disappears after this warning and Enzo grimaces, trying to revive Cass. "Well, that sounds promising," he mumbles as Seth comes over to assist him, the two of them tugging Cass up and walking awkwardly with him back towards Luke's homebase.


	179. chapter 179

Things are settling now. Cass has been found, Jason reappeared at some point, and TJ isn't overly concerned with everything else Seth, Luke, and the others are discussing. He's teasing his partner, Falcomon, by ruffling his feathers. Large earphones cover his ears while he listens to music and waits for _something_ to be decided on, ignoring everything going on around him... until gravity betrays him and he realizes he's falling, falling... falling. He scrambles, tries to grab onto something, but can't, everything fading past him until he hits hard, blinking into the darkness. "What the..."

Falcomon nudges him and shakes free, TJ's fingers still buried in his feathers. "I think someone's watching us," he says tensely, shifting this way and that in an attempt to see through the darkness. "TJ, I think-"

"SONIC EAR!" There's a scramble, TJ is pushed away, and then Falcomon squawks in agony.

"Falcomon!" he exclaims, tugging his earphones off and trying to find his partner in the darkness. "Falcomon, what's-" The sudden pain that greets him is searing. Stabs up his arm, slicing through his wrist. He cries out and draws his arm back, fingers already sticky with blood dripping through them as he tries to stem the flow. "Oh my God," he mumbles, feeling ill and shaky. "What the..."

"TJ," Falcomon pants, his feathers scratching against TJ's leg. "I can't... I... It's a Prairiemon..." The name means nothing to TJ. He shakes his head, trembling, nauseous, and desperate for something, some way out of this.

"Falcomon, I can't..." He's useless. He can't see and now his hand is numb, pain leaving him unable to give proper weight to every other thought or idea he may have ordinarily had. "Please..."

"Falco rush!" There's a gust of wind against TJ's face as Falcomon does _something,_ apparently landing at least one strike as a loud roar of pain comes from somewhere near where TJ is sprawled, wishing for something good to happen. "TJ, I know you're hurt, I am too, but we have a minute here- I need to digivolve!"

It's ridiculous. TJ doesn't know what to do to help with that, his hand is trembling against his digivice and he wonders if it's blood smeared, if his wrist is sliced so badly that he might bleed out here, the others left unaware of what's happened. "I don't know," he says through trembling lips. He doesn't want to die. He grips his digivice tighter and presses it to his face, hoping for a clue, a hint, something to activate inside of it, inside of himself to give his partner the boost he needs...

Abruptly, there's a wild, bright light that blinds TJ and he cries out, dropping the device and gripping his face with his good hand, certain that it's another attack aiming for him... but he feels no pain, in fact the light is steady now, kind of warm and comforting and Falcomon is saying _something._ Once he has control of himself again, he peeks through his fingers, vision slowly stabilizing despite the stars dotting his eyes. He swallows hard and unfolds from himself, staring up. Falcomon isn't the tiny partner he'd gotten used to anymore, no... now he's a huge bird seemingly made of fire with massive talons and sharp teeth, beady eyes locked on the creature that has to be Prairiemon.

TJ grunts, gets a good look at his wrist and bites down a whimper, forcing himself to look away from the damage. It's extensive and too blood-crusted for him to actually see how bad it really is. He tries to apply pressure without really looking, and watches as Prairiemon's ears lengthen, turn sharper again, and try to slash through Birdramon again.

This fails, however, Birdramon sweeping his wings towards Prairiemon, the flames frightening the digimon back, and giving Birdramon the space to slash at him with his talons, pay him back for his earlier actions. "Meteor Wing!" he cries out, TJ ducking aside as flames seem to surround him, but licking everywhere but at his vulnerable skin, Prairiemon screaming as his fur and ears begin to singe. Another strike with Birdramon's talons and Prairiemon deletes, charred data streaming out of the hole.

Birdramon lands next to TJ, examining his injuries. "We need to get you out of here," he says. "Don't worry, my flames will not hurt you. You can ride on my talon."

TJ hisses as he shifts, his wrist throbbing. "I can?"

"Yes." BIrdramon stands very still as TJ gets to his feet, gripping his arm to his chest, and grips the side of his partner's leg with his good arm, closing his eyes. "Now hold on, TJ." They fly up and before TJ is fully aware of it, he's back on solid ground, Seth and the others running towards him.

"What happened!?"

He wavers on his feet and forces his eyes open to find Neville and Seth both gripping his arm, Neville's dark eyes filled with his own special blend of disdain and worry as they ease him over to sit down close to Luke's base. Birdramon is explaining Prairiemon, TJ's injuries, his own digivolution, and everything since, Neville reaching into the bag that he'd dragged along for this journey and pulling out a first aid kit.

TJ squints at him, smirks. "Always be prepared, huh?"

"I am no boy scout," he sniffs dismissively, holding TJ's hand steady as he cleans it. "This might not be a permanent fix, but it should hold until we're back on earth for the trainers to fix you up properly."

TJ swallows, watches him bandage him fingers to wrist and groans when Neville tapes it in place tightly, pain radiating up his fingers. "Thanks," he mumbles, scrubbing at his face with his good hand. "Are we leaving soon?"

"Yes," Seth says, stopping to talk with Luke for a moment before standing near TJ, watching Neville help him to his feet. "Let's get out of here."

Neville stays nearby while TJ goes to show his injuries to a trainer, spinning some story that Cupcake had escaped the house and he'd gotten slashed by a wild cat trying to corner her. "I can't believe that lie worked," he mumbles once TJ's wrist is stitched up, rebandaged, and he's allowed to leave. Flicks at TJ's obnoxious headphones still hanging around his neck. "Maybe next time you won't be so ridiculous by listening to these things and leave yourself vulnerable to attack."

TJ smirks at him. "Maybe." Neville scoffs and rolls his eyes as the two of them walk side by side down the hall.


	180. chapter 180

Carmella flounces, shaking her hair out over her shoulder. James can't keep his eyes off of her as he tags along, trying to keep her happy. Ensure that she never breaks things off with him again. He spots a dip in the ground, gently reaching out and altering her path so she doesn't risk falling and hurting herself, her cool brown eyes resting on him for a moment before she continues on her way. The others are nearby but it's just the two of them, which gives James a deep feeling of unease, but he doesn't say anything, desperately keeping his promise to do things her way from now on.

Nyokimon and Choromon, their partners, are chattering from their shoulders and Carmella pauses now and again to smile at her partner, stars in her eyes whenever she looks down at her. James glances at his once or twice as well, but for the most part, he can't keep his focus from drifting back to Carmella, still confused over her actions on Smackdown, something they haven't really talked about. He still feels like he's dancing on a landmine around her, too scared to step too hard or speak too loudly.

She's leaning down to breathe in some flowers that are unlike anything she's ever seen before on earth when it happens- there's a scramble nearby, disrupting her peace and she looks up to yell at James when she freezes. Gapes at the sight before her of a muscular, nearly naked female digimon gripping a wide eyed, frightened James around the waist, her armored claws and sharp beak of a face hovering way too close to his. "Aren't you a pretty one?" she coos, her nails leaving red marks up and down James' arm. "I could just eat you up." Her smile looks sharkish, James closing his eyes as he whimpers, Choromon all but useless from where he'd been knocked to the ground.

Carmella lunges to her feet and rushes at them. "Hey! Bitch, let go of my man!" James flushes through the fear, but it's not enough to scare the digimon off. In fact, it seems to only make her dig her claws in worse, James' fear growing into pain as blood starts to well up under where she's gripping him. Carmella immediately skids to a stop, unsure what to do as James' whimpers turn into pained groans. She's looking all over when she realizes that something's glowing- in her pocket... Grabbing it, she holds it up and stares at her digivice in confusion, just to realize that her partner is gleaming as well. "Nyokimon...?"

The chain of events that happens then makes Carmella gasp, Nyokimon hopping forward and getting hit with a brilliant flash of light. "Nyokimon warp digivolve to... SunFlowmon!" Face like the flower the creature's named for, her body is green, her tail is thorny, and two leaves sprouting from her back seem to be acting like wings. Carmella's jaw drops in awe and even Kinkakumon seems wary of this, her grip on James slacking a bit as she backs away from the creature. Sunflowmon merely laughs at the reaction her appearance is having, shaking her head and landing with a thud before Kinkakumon. "Let James go," she says, a certain steel in her soft voice. "Right now."

"No! I love him, look at him-" But Kinkakumon's words die away as Sunflowmon lifts her hand, a bright burst of sunshine shooting from her leaves and blinding the clingy digimon, causing her to push James away hard, his body hitting the ground and skidding a few feet away.

"James!" Carmella cries, running to him and supporting his limp form as she watches, wide eyed, this dance between Kinkakumon and Sunflowmon.

"No! Where did he go?!" Kinkakumon cries out as soon as she can see again. "Where-?!" She sees James and Carmella then, trying to rush towards them... just to get met with seeds from Sunflowmon exploding against her side, sending her off-course and into a tree. "No, no-" She's struggling through the pain, data pouring from her wounds, still trying to get to James, her eyes flashing a deep red... when Sunflowmon shoots one final seed at her with enough force that she quiets immediately, in too much pain to even spit out James' name once more.

As soon as she's gone, Sunflowmon dedigivolves to Floramon and calmly walks over, scooping up Choromon on her way to join the others. "Is he ok?" she asks, grazing a vine over James' lifeless face.

"He will be," Carmella says grimly, leaning in and slapping James hard across the face. He jerks awake and looks around, frantic, before she cups his face and kisses him. "You're ok," she mumbles into his mouth, stroking his cheeks as he instinctively kisses her back. "I've got you. She's gone."

He exhales, relaxing in her arms, before pushing himself up to a sitting position, rubbing his face but still having a dazed look about him from the kiss. "Thanks, Princess," he says quietly, trying so desperately not to anger her.

She sighs, gets to her feet and dusts her hands off before reaching out for him. "C'mon, Jimmy. Let's get back to the others."

He nods, gently taking her hand and pulling himself up. As soon as he's upright again, she searches his face and sighs, leaning in to rest her forehead against his for a few moments, digesting that he's ok. That Kinkakumon didn't hurt him seriously. He waits patiently, relieved just to see some sign of the old Carmella lurking under her hardened shell. When she takes his hand and leads him away, he exhales in relief and squeezes her fingers gently.


	181. chapter 181

"No, Carmella," Luke tells her impatiently. "You can't have James on a leash here in the Digiworld. What if a digimon attacked and he needed to move? You could get yourself and him both killed with this kind of foolishness. Uncollar him now."

She snaps her gum angrily before reaching over and unhooking him, watching with a grimace as James gingerly rubs at his throat. "Thanks," he says softly, stepping aside. Careful not to say anything, do anything, that might piss her off all over again.

Seeing that the drama is concluded, the other Smackdown digidestined rejoin them and Nakamura holds up his digivice. "Place near here needs help," he says. "Not a village. Is an island."

"Great," the group mumbles. None of them have digimon capable of swimming long distances with them on their back, but a few of them can fly, so Zack, Carmella and Nakamura all hold their digivices out. Apollomon, Sunflowmon and HippoGriffomon appear a moment later, Apollomon and HippoGriffomon taking on as many of the digidestined as they can while James and Carmella are carried by Sunflowmon.

They all arrive safely, if a bit slowly, and Carmella pats Sunflowmon on the back before turning to look for the cause of the distress call. "Wait," Shinsuke says, accept thick and confused. "This is not the island I saw- the island I... I was intending for us to go to has... disappeared..."

"What does _that_ mean?" Owens demands, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"It may have been destroyed since we left," Nakamura explains faintly, staring at his digivice in the hopes that he's wrong. But, no, as he stares at the map, _another_ strip of land disappears from the blue circle on his digivice. He pales. "Islands are being destroyed. We need to figure this out. Now." Before they can act, however, a shadow falls over the island they're standing on.

"Aw shit," Owens mumbles, all of them looking up at the armored digimon hovering overhead.

"You are strange looking digimon," he says to the humans with a sneer. "Or perhaps you are these fabled digidestined I have heard whispers of?" He scoffs. "You look very unimpressive to me. Either way, it does not matter. Say farewell!"

A flash of light blinds them and then there's a large explosion, leveling everything and leaving it quiet and desolate.


	182. chapter 182

Tamina wakes up first. Finds all of the Smackdown digidestined scattered around her, limp and bloodied. She blinks and fumbles for her digivice, squinting at her partner. "Digivolve," she commands weakly but the baby creature is unconscious, doesn't even twitch at the command. She tries to inch forward, touch _someone_ but Mirage Gaogamon is right there, aims his weapon at her and shoots off a blast that just misses her hand, leaves a deep scorch mark on the ground before.

"No, no. That nonsense is not allowed," he tells her with a sneer. "You will have to suffer along with the rest of them." He kneels down, digs his fingers into her face and draws her up, scoffing at her. "Humans are such weird, vulnerable creatures. And you are brought here to rescue us?" He rolls his eyes and tosses her aside, brushing his fingers off on the nearest rock formation, as if trying to rid himself of her germs.

She breathes in fearfully as he presses his halberd to her throat, eyeing her closely. "Stop," she mumbles. "You don't have to do this." He tilts his head, examines her, chuckling callously. "Seriously-" He throws his head back for real this time, laughing hard, and she twists away from him. "PUWAMON! NOW!" Her partner's awake, she'd sensed it between one breath and the next- the slow-building bond between them, how Tamina can _feel_ her somewhere deep inside like a piece of her soul that's been missing for too long.

"PUWAMON Digivolve to..." Voice changing, body growing, baby Puwamon, barely a blob, turns into a pink bird with wide green eyes. But she's not done yet. "Piyomon digivolve to... Youkomon!" She's beautiful, Tamina thinks, light purple fur, flames everywhere, intense dark eyes that seem to cut through anything she looks at. And her prowess, right from the start! Enough to send Mirage Gaogamon offbalanced, flames dancing around him with the control of someone who's wielded such power for years, not minutes.

He snorts, spins in a circle and sends the flames away, but more appear, dance around him, charring his armor, leaving him frowning. He points at Tamina. "I will be back. Especialy for you, fiesty one." And sure enough, as soon as he'd appeared, he goes, and she thinks she can breathe a little easier, even now- surrounded by all of her unconscious teammates and their partners.

She walks up to Youkomon and gently touches her muzzle, smiling at her. "Lana would love you," she says quietly, thinking about her colleague now that the danger's past. Now that she can breathe again. Half-turns to look at the others. "Come, little one, we have work to do," she says, sensing more than feeling as Youkomon drops her power, eases back into her Piyomon form.

"Yes, Tamina!" her partner chirps, dilligently following her around to wake the others up, explain what exactly happened. That they're not out of the woods, by no means, but had gotten a small break by Youkomon's digivolution. It's not great news, but it's better than nothing.


	183. chapter 183

Chad is lonely. He misses Jason like he's never missed anything before in his life. Yeah, Shelton's awesome, sure, but... he had wanted to team with Jason for so long, to have him taken away so abruptly has left him uneasy, lost in doubts and recriminations. Things he could've done differently to strengthen their partnership, make them invaluable to Shane and Daniel as a tag team where they would've laughed Angle out of the building at the mere suggestion of trading Jason over to Raw. But this hadn't happened and he'd lost his brother, his best friend.

Wrestling isn't as much fun, going to the Digiworld feels bleak and empty, fighting against an unending wave of spreading darkness and disaster, and Chad kind of just wants to ignore the next summons. But he doesn't- gets in line with the others and goes. Half listens to Luke, to Kevin, to anyone who has anything to say about what they're doing here now, and then trudges after them to the next problem spot on the map.

It's all gone as soon as they arrive, barely cinders left, data thick and heavy in the air, and Chad closes his eyes, grips Punimon tightly as the rest of the digidestined make distressed noises and start searching for someone- anyone. But he can tell already, everyone's been deleted. The village is no more. He stumbles away, needing a minute, and walks for what feels like forever but is probably only a few minutes when he trips and lands at the feet of a humanoid creature, peering up at him. "It was you," he says lowly, startled at the pure flames bleeding from his hands, his shoulders, all along his body. "You destroyed that entire village."

"I didn't mean to," he chokes out. "Truly. I just... lost my temper... they sent my best friend to another village... and the loneliness, the anger, it built up... I didn't _mean_ to."

And oddly enough, Chad believes him. But it's clear he has no control over his powers, not anymore, so he presses a button on his digivice to contact the others and stands anxiously until Shinsuke and the others arrive. Nakamura handles it quickly, smoothly, deleting the creature so that his data will purify and hopefully be reborn back into the gentle creature he was before. Before losing who seemed to matter most to him.

Chad closes his eyes, thinking about the coincidence of running into a creature suffering the same as he is. "Jason wouldn't want me to throw everything away, and I'm sure that digimon's friend wouldn't have wanted it for him either. I need to get my head back in the game, be the tag partner that Shelton deserves." He's still best friends with Jason, they talk all of the time even if they don't travel together or wrestle side by side. It'll do.

He smiles calmly.


	184. chapter 184

"This is a mess," Luke decides, looking at his digital records on every Digidestined. "We have injured, and earth-bound, and active..." He sighs. Taps a couple of keys spastically. "Prariemon!" When the digimon appears before him, wide eyed but calm, he smiles wearily. "I need your help."

She eagerly wades in with very little explanation of what he wants from her, sorting the files as needed. Their names, their crests or digimentals if applicable, their partners and the various known evolution forms for them. He scans over the information once she's done and smiles at her. "Thank you so much, Prairiemon. I would be lost without you."

She giggles cheerfully. "I know," she chirps, diving back into the grass to return to her usual place of residence until he may call on her again, in need of her cunning, or her ability to organize things quickly and easily.

**Raw Digidestined**

_Name/Crest or digimental/Partner's known evolution line_

**Seth Rollins** Courage Botamon/?/Betamon/Seadramon/Megaseadramon

**Dean Ambrose** Loyalty Petitmon/BabyDmon/Otamamon/Gesomon/WaruSeadramon/Plesiomon

**Heath Slater** Realibility Cocomon/?/Lopmon/Moosemon/Mammothmon/Duftmon (Lynxmon)

**Neville**? Popomon

**Alicia Fox** Sincerity Nyokimon/Tanemon/Palmon/Kiwimon/Lilimon/Lotusmon

**Jason Jordan**? Poyomon

**The Miz** Light/Mercy Monodramon/Strikdramon/Cyberdramon/Justimon (Pucchimon)

**TJ Perkins**? Falcomon/Birdramon

**Enzo Amore**? Veemon/Magnamon/Grademon (Gold Veedramon)

**Smackdown Digidestined**

**Shinsuke Nakamura**? Mokumon/?/Coronamon/?/?/Apollomon

**Kevin Owens**? Bearmon/Gryzmon

**Dolph Ziggler** Friendship Impmon/Wizardmon/Wisemon/Beelzebubmon

**Carmella**? Nyokimon

**James Ellsworth**? Choromon

**Tamina Snuka**? Puwamon/?/Piyomon/Youkomon

**Chad Gable**? Punimon

**Zack Ryder** Hope/Wishes Patamon/Darcmon/HIppogriffomon/Seraphimon (Prairiemon)

**Rusev**? ?

**Injured/inactive Digidestined**

**Colin Cassady**? Hyokomon/Buraimon/Grademon

**Shane McMahon**? ?

**Earth-bound Digidestined**

**Ricardo Rodriguez**? Veemon

**CM Punk**? Mokumon

**AJ Lee**? Renamon/Kyubimon

**Wade Barrett** Intelligence/Tenacity Lunamon/Gatomon/Sanzomon/Shakamon (Nefertimon)

**Alberto Del Rio** Honor Gabumon/Garurumon/Vajaramon

**Austin Aries**? Pitchmon

He sighs and rereads the files. Still a lot of things that need attention, but he thinks with time, they'll be able to sort through the digidestined who are injured, those who active. Figure out how best to serve the digimon in need of help, and figure out what to do about the situation that only seems to be worsening weekly. "Somehow, I will make this all work," he mumbles, staring at the list before him.


	185. chapter 185

Enzo skitters around in his goofy dance, trying to make the baby digimon watching him laugh. He smirks at them and sighs, turning back to the village Luke had made them all go examine. Nothing seems to be happening but the man had thought it important, so here they are. "Something there seems to be off," is all he'd told them, making them go with no further explanation of what to look for or do once they arrived. Still rough after losing his cruiserweight belt, Enzo is content to sit alone, try to amuse himself, Veemon, whatever digimon might be nearby.

He eventually yawns and sits down, staring blankly ahead, when the grass parts. A bright bird digimon prances its way out and their eyes lock. "Well, ain't you an interestin' lookin' creature?" he asks with a vague smile. "I like ya style, man. Bet we could get along well."

Hawkmon doesn't say anything for a long moment, Veemon about to interject, when finally it walks forward and stands near Enzo. "You're a digidestined."

His chest swells with pride. "Sure am! We here's lookin' into your village, makin' sure everythin's shipshape. No worries, we ain't seein' anything yet but y'know, better safe than sorry! Ain't that right, little guy?" he asks, reaching over to chuff a Poyomon who makes a faint noise and hops away with little warning. "Tsk. They're prolly not used to humans, skiddish little things."

"Right, of course," Hawkmon says, eyes fixed on Enzo.

"Whatta say, little guy? Wanna go see what's going on in the village?" Enzo asks, this enough for him to get his second wind and hopping up to his feet. "Let's go!" Dusting his hands off, he marches back into the village, Hawkmon following close behind.

Veemon frowns, watching them go. "Not sure why, but I have a bad feeling about this," he mumbles.


	186. chapter 186

They'd all been taken out easily. That was the only thing Zack really remembered- one moment, being fine and laughing at something Dolph is saying... and the next, eyes forming around him, blinking creepily. Then everything turning dark and empty, the silence unsettling Zack more than anything else. He forces himself up onto his elbows and looks around, aching and pensive. The others are scattered before him, all unconscious, limp. He panics. Tries to crawl over to Dolph, just to discover he can't move anything but his eyes. Struggles to talk and finds that impossible as well.

He breathes heavily until something tall and somehow familiar bleeds out of the darkness, rests a hand on his forehead. "Shhhhh, pathetic human. There's no reason to panic. You will be joining your friends soon." A hand rests on his forehead and sure enough, everything returns to darkness and quiet.

Zack blinks. Turns in a slow circle and stares at the eyes covering every inch of the world he finds himself in, some blinking and others just watching him. "Well, this is definitely creepy," he mumbles, trying not to lose himself in the unease. "Patamon? Dolph? Anyone?" He can remember Duskmon saying he'd rejoin his friends soon, but he can't see or hear anyone. His breathing turns a little shakier as he realizes just how alone he truly is. "Hello! Please- someone answer me!"

He blinks a few times when he feels something, a flash of memory- watching Dolph and AJ Lee walking hand in hand down the hallway, Big E lurking behind them... and then pain. Intense, blinding agony stabbing from his forehead down to his toes, leaving him gasping and digging his fingers into his eyes. "Ah shit!" he cries out, desperate to get away from the agony but unsure how to. "Help- help-"

He's sure he's going to die here, alone and blind to everything but the wall of eyes surrounding him. Tears fill his eyes.


	187. chapter 187

Rusev struggles to sit. Stand. Do _something._ He's groggy, barely with it, and he can feel a familiar weight by his arm. There are bones _everywhere,_ the oddest decor he's ever seen, even in Russia or Bulgaria, and he hates to admit it but he's creeped out, trying once more to sit up but having to settle for looking over to find his partner, DemiDevimon, sprawled out next to him, wing fluttering uselessly against his palm.

He struggles to move his fingers, pinch his partner's bony appendage carefully, but he can't move even an inch. Turning his head back to stare up at the sky, dark and foreboding overhead, he struggles to keep his cool. "DemiDevimon," he mumbles. "I don't know how we're going to get out of this, but we _will._ Somehow. Someway. I promise you."

The tail end of his words are suddenly drowned out by loud, ground shaking footsteps and he grits his teeth as a digimon that appears to be formed by only bones stomps closer and stares down at him, jaw gaping into what Rusev thinks might be a snarl on anyone else. He then throws his head back and laughs, rattling the bones embedded around them and making Rusev think twice about fighting harder to get free from whatever's holding him down. "Come on, don't bring the whole place collapsing down around us!" he snaps at SkullGreymon.

SkullGreymon whips his head around and glares at Rusev, a putrid mix of blood and stale meat rafting over Rusev's prone form as he snarls over him.

"Ooh, ok, you didn't like that," Rusev mumbles, not entirely surprised but still thrown by the strength behind that bellow. He wishes DemiDevimon were awake- or that he could move _at all_ \- something to give him some sort of game plan.

But no, he is forced to realize as he continues staring helplessly at the massive digimon. There's not going to be some last-second save, or brain storm that impresses everyone around them. He's truly trapped.


	188. chapter 188

Shane McMahon isn't too used to the Digiworld. He'd only been digidestined for a few weeks before his father suspended him indefinitely, keeping him from returning with the rest of the Smackdown group for a few weeks. Now that he's back, he's not sure what to do. Where to turn. Rusev and Zack are both missing, Tamina and Dolph both fretting because of it. He'd also heard rumblings that Enzo is gone on the Raw side, which is a relief to some and worrisome to the others.

He looks down at the baby digimon in his hands, Upamon nuzzled up close to him as he breathes in and out peacefully, waiting for Shane to decide what to do next. "You know," he says to his partner, "I'm ok with being leader of Survivor Series. I'm ok with jumping off of cages, and whatever else. But this... digiworld stuff... it's kind of intimidating to me. I almost woke up the whole house yelling when you started to grow from Tsubumon into this form." He tickles Upamon and watches him laugh. "I think you did that on purpose."

His partner laughs. "Nooo!" he exclaims, nuzzling further into Shane's soft shirt.

"I don't believe you," Shane says in a singsong voice. They're still exploring, looking at various rocks and small creatures skittering around on the ground at Shane's feet... when _everything_ rattles. And rattles again. And a third time. He stands very still. "What is that?"

"I don't know," Upamon says. "But you should run!"

Which is exactly what Shane does, trying to ignore how the ground shakes harder, faster, closer as whatever it is approaches where they're trying to escape. Shane's almost out of sight, he thinks- he hopes- when the ground cracks under his feet and he crashes elbows first against the ground, trying to shield Upamon. "Ow," he mumbles. When he rolls over, he immediately regrets it, finding himself staring up at an armored creature with huge spears that look closer to drills on the end of each hand. "My God..."

"I am not your god," the digimon informs him sarcastically. "My name is Skull Knightmon." He laughs. " _But_ you have met your maker, that is the truth."

Shane shakes his head, aware that there's nothing he can do to salvage this situation. "Let Upamon go then. You can do whatever you want to me-"

"Shane! No!" Upamon cries, but Shane ignores her, eyeing Skull Nightmon.

"Do we have a plan?"

Skull Knightmon's breath is putrid as he leans closer and laughs in Shane's face. "I'm not sure... How will you make it worth my mile?"

Shane's jaw drops as he takes in the sincerity in her eye, unease and fretfulness wiping away every other emotion he feels, trying desperately to find a way out of this and quickly coming up short. "Give me time to think."

"Not too long." Skull Knightmon pulls back to wait, watching him as if there's realy many places for a human to go in this part of the digiworld. "Soon," he sings. "Soon all will appreciate Skull Knightmon..."


	189. chapter 189

Seth is not in a good mood. They were cheated out of the tag belts, and now there's some problem with the Smackdown team that Luke is expecting them to step in, help to sort out. He really, really does not want to, but knows that it's necessary because unfortunately, no matter how much the two opposing brands may hate each other, in order to keep peace and harmony in the digiworld, they need to work together. Especially when a problem is growing bigger by the day, which this one seems to be.

Betamon looks up at him worriedly, a deep look in his soft eyes, and Seth leans down, hoisting his partner up to sit loosely on his forearm so they can talk easier. "Are you alright, Seth?" he asks quietly.

"Not really, man. Too much keeps happening." His partner nods, snuggles against his chest in a weak attempt at comfort and looks around as they continue to walk. "I can't wait until Survivor Series so Smackdown stays on their brand and I can return my focus to regaining those tag belts," he mumbles. He and Dean are ok, he's sure, it's just things feel wrong without their belts binding them together. Not to mention he has a headache and he hasn't been sleeping well lately. The cold weather never does his knee any favors, and it's been aching the entire UK tour.

He's brushing his way through a bunch of bushes when it happens- a Floramon, disturbed from its rest, rises up and snarls at Seth before raining down pollen that chokes him, leaves him gasping for air. "Hey!" Betamon yells, chasing after the Digimon and missing every attack he attempts. When he gives up and returns to Seth, it's to find him sitting up, gagging and gasping for air. "Come on, let's get you out of here." Betamon is too small to be proper help with Seth walking but he stands next to him, makes sure to guide him away from any further obstacles.

By the time they make it back to Luke's base, Dean is clearly looking for Seth and he appears worried as soon as Seth stumbles in, still barely able to see. "What happened!?" Betamon explains the entire situation as Dean helps Seth sit down and pours a full bottle of water that he'd taken from one of the women earlier over his head, wiping as much of the pollen away as he could. "Better?"

"I think," Seth wheezes. "I just wanna go home." _Lay down. Not think for a week. Average stuff like that._

"Alright, we can do that," Dean says softly, helping him and to the portal where the other Raw digidestined slowly group up, holding his digivice out to the screen. "We'll go," he says, helping Seth lift his eye. "And we'll figure this out and get everything working the way it should regarding its digidestined. But for now, come on, let's let these guys get some sleep."

Seth gives in, follows Dean anywhere, for anything.


	190. chapter 190

****

Shinsuke typically isn't fazed by much, especially after being a digidestined for so long, but this district he finds himself in is really starting to eat at him. Freezing, with no hint of shelter anywhere. He thinks briefly of how Kazuchika would hate it and smirks grimly as he buries his hands deeper into his jacket. Coronamon hates it too, riding on top of Nakamura's head, trying to avoid the worst of the snow billowing around them. He tucks his partner into the hoodie of his jacket as best as he can, continuing to trudge forward.

He can sense the cause of the unseasonably cold temperatures just ahead, tempted to tell Coronamon to digivolve already, but he waits to see. Perhaps speaking to the creature will help- probably not, but it wouldn't hurt to take his time, make sure. Especially with the digidestined's numbers dwindling between releases and mysterious happenings in the digiworld itself. He already misses James Ellsworth, wishing that they had more time to go surfing the last time they were on tour together.

When Shinsuke finaly comes in view of the creature, he's not surprised to find that it's a Blue Meramon, the creature's flames frozen in shards of blue ice, his eyes glinting coolly as he manipulates the weather around him just by being. Each step hardens the ice under his feet, every breath freezes the wind by another degree. Shinsuke gives in, nods then and feels as Coronamon flies out of his hoodie and digivolves, Apollomon landing heavily in front of Blue Meramon, flames pouring out of his back just to keep his body stabilized, warm enough to function. Blue Meramon snarls, stomps his feet and pours more power out into his ice, closing his eyes as Apollomon roars out, panicking when his skin begins to crack and freeze despite the flames flowing from his orb.

"Apollomon!" Shinsuke cries out, the cold getting worse and causing him to waver for the first time since coming here. Not for the first time, he's glad that he's decided to take this mission on by himself. The other digidestined, they wouldn't be prepared for this, some of them not even having fully digivolved partners yet. He tries to step forward, figure out a way to help his partner, but there's no way to do so. Blue Meramon simply turns his focus onto Shinsuke, blasting more snow and ice at him, quickly encasing him in shards of ice.

Nakamura drops to his knees and wavers, looking up with watery eyes as he realizes that this could easily be his end. There may be no way out of this. As sad as he feels for not being able to assist the new digidestined longer, his chief regret is not being able to see his home country once more. "Japan," he breathes out, wavering as the last of his energy fails him, sending him face first into the snow billowing around before him.

As he loses consciousness, he thinks he can hear Blue Meramon laughing mockingly a few feet away, but he's too far gone to look up and check.


	191. chapter 191

Dean sighs, riding Plesiomon through choppy river water, trying to figure out where the red dot on his digivice is coming from. "This is so stupid," he mumbles. The others had sent him out here since he's one of the few with a mega leveled digimon capable of making it through water, since Seth and Seadramon are needed back on the mainland to try to sort out other crisises happening around the digiworld. "I'm getting pretty tired of this world."

Plesiomon's only response to that is to toss his head, indication an island coming out of nowhere. "Perhaps that's where-?" he asks, not getting to finish his sentence before Dean is leaping off of his back and running out of sight, eager to figure this out so they can return to the others. Plesiomon rolls his eyes and dedigivolves to Betamon, trying to catch up to his partner. "Dean! Wait!"

He's too late, however, watching Dean kneel down by a baby Yaamon. "Look'it this little guy, isn't that Ziggler's partner's baby form?" he asks, reaching out to touch the creature, scritching its head lightly.

"Be careful, Dean-" Betamon beseeches him, just for Yaamon to abruptly bristle and hop away as fast as it can go, Dean gaping after it.

"Hey, wait!" he cries, racing after the small creature. "Is something wrong? Do you need our help?"

"Oh dammit," Betamon sighs, following him reluctantly. "Dean! Would you slow down!"

Not that the speed would matter at all, when the ground opens up from under them and swallows them up into this pit, both of them staring at each other in awe. "What just happened?" Dean mumbles, rubbing at his ass as he looks up to find Yaamon standing by the pit, snickering down at them. "Why you-!" he yells, trying to crawl up the side of the hole to get to the creature, sending dirt and rocks down all over them.

"Dean, stop trying to kill us!" Betamon finally yells, his partner realizing what he's doing and sitting down with a thump. "Now what do we do?" he mumbles, looking up once the worst of the danger has past. For now.

Considering it's too far away from the others for Dean's digivice to alert them they're in danger, Betamon has a feeling they're going to be here for awhile. He sighs.


	192. chapter 192

Kevin isn't even sure what's happening anymore. As if things in his own life- personal and professional isn't weird enough, now the group is disappearing one by one, the digidestined losing. Losing numbers, losing hope, losing... a lot. He closes his eyes and lifts his head, letting the sun shine down upon his cool skin.

Bearmon stands by him, absorbing the warmth as well. He can sense his partner's unease and it makes him feel like a failure for not being able to make things easier for him. Finally Kevin looks down and begins torun his fingers through Bearmon's fur, smiling when his partner makes a deep, contented noise. "Do you think the others are ok?" he wonders, remembering Luke's reaction at learning that someone's picking the team off little by little again. It happens a lot, he thinks, various digimon taking their darkness out on the team so determined to keep the world on the side of the light.

"I'm not sure," Kevin mumbles. He tries to look unimpressed by the subject but Bearmon can tell it bothers him, weighs on him, how quickly they're going missing, and at such a rushed speed as well.

They're still standing there when Bearmon turns to look at him- just to stop and gape, in disbelief of what he's seeing. Kevin has just turned to say something when he spots the dazed expression on his partner's face and turns to look, all of the color draining from his face as he realizes. "Oh hell-" he's just spat out when there's a whooshing noise and then darkness.

Shoutmon X3SD quietly hooks his sword around Kevin's body and begins to drag him, leaving Bearmon behind, weak and near deletion. All he can do is watch, eyes squinted open just enough to see, as his partner is dragged away. "No," he moans, trying to crawl forward. "No- Kevin!"

Shoutmon X3SD hears this. Turns and lifts a hand, raining acid down upon the rookie digimon, each splash of chemical infused liquid causing him to cry out and writhe around, trying to avoid it... just to fall very still, very quiet, before shattering into pieces right then and there.

Kevin then disappears from sight, putting along by Shoutmon X3SD.


	193. chapter 193

They're dropping like flies. So far, eight of them just poof. Both Raw and Smackdown guys, gone. Taken who knows where. Yeah, it's happened before, and will probably happen again, but at least before they'd have a clue, some way to find their friends. Right now... they're all clueless, floundering. Worried. It doesn't help at all that Zack was one of the first taken. Dolph hasn't seen his best friend in so long that part of him worries if maybe... _But no,_ he forces himself to stop thinking like that. _The kid's fine. He's too strong to be taken out by some idiot digimon. We'll find him, and the others, and everything will return to normal after we kick some ass._

Like before. Like they will in the future. He looks up at Beelzebumon, knowing that his partner feels as untethered without his other half as much as Dolph does. He smirks, recollecting how as their partners had hit higher and higher power levels that they realized Zack's partner was along the angel line while Dolph's was more along a demon. Not that Beelzebumon is a bad guy, he's loyal and steadfast, right there ready to defend the team or a village, anything that's needed done. It had just been funny, since Zack was always the light even at his worse, and Dolph is more sharp edges and darkness. He sighs, shaking his head. _Guess that's why we get along so well. Like our partners, we just complement each other._

He's still lost in thought, walking alongside, Beelzebumon, but it's obvious that even if he'd been paying complete attention, it wouldn't have changed things. Wouldn't have kept them from walking right under the massive storm cloud that's concealing Rhino Kabuterimon's power, sharp electrical force field suddenly pinning both of them down and keeping either of them from being able to move an inch. "No-!" Dolph chokes out, struggling to fight free though he can tell it's hopeless. Even Beelzebumon is defenseless, unable even to twitch a muscle as Rhino Kabuterimon laughs a few feet away. Dolph groans, gritting his teeth. "You're the one- who took Zack, aren't you?"

"Zack?" the electrical beast asks, each word sounding like cracking power. The distorted noise makes Dolph cringe. "Who? Is that one of your fellow Digidestined? I have no recollection of a Zack. Just a Dolph." He is made of thick, armored plates, his entire body heav and cumbersome but containing great power as he shifts his force field and eases Dolph up until they're eye to eye. "How do humans like electricity?" He presses his horn to Dolph's stomach and hums, tearing his shirt easily. "Perhaps..." He trails lower, Dolph gritting his teeth as he approaches delicate areas, just to dig into the flesh of Dolph's thigh, releasing electricity into him in one sharp surge of power.

The pain is excruciating. Dolph can hear his screams echoing through out the area, his entire body feeling like it's on fire until his voice goes hoarse and he falls limp, only held up by the force field.

"DOLPH!" Beelzebumon screams, fighting to move even an inch. He hates the sound of his partner's silent. "LET HIM GO!"

The field suddenly disappears, Dolph's motionless body falling to the ground. Rhino Kabuterimon shrugs. Turns his attention to Beelzebumon and flicks his horn, a flash of lightning releasing his power from the clouds, raining down lightning bolts in torrents, tearing through Beelzebumon and leaving him screaming and sobbing as he writhes against the nonstop pain until he dedigivolves to Yaamon. Immediately the storm stops and Rhino Kabuterimon whips his horn around, using his power to make Dolph and Yaamon's limp forms float behind him as he walks heavily away.


	194. chapter 194

With so many of their numbers missing, and everyone in Chicago anyway for the holiday events, the Raw and Smackdown superstars group together for this week's journey to the Digiworld. Most don't like each other, but it's a necessary evil.

Seth oversees Alicia, Carmella, Jason, Miz, Chad, TJ and Tamina as they wander around, checking their digivices for the map of emergencies, and discuss amongst themselves what to do. "Guys," he calls out, his gravelly voice attracting their attention. "I know there are a lot of spots on the map that need assistance but we're not going to split up this time, alright? We need to stick together for each other's safety. So let's pick a spot and go for it."

After some discussion and a very minor bit of arguing when Chad wants to go to one place while the others disagree, they set off for a spot nearby, choosing to start there and then move on to other spots if everything goes smoothly. The destruction is obvious before they even arrive, a cloud of smoke and debris rising up before them. "Whoa," Tamina hisses out softly.

The closer they get, the more distressed their partners look. "I can't go any closer," Betamon finally says, breathing raspy, eyes wide with fright. "Seth, none of us can. It's... there's a vibe in the air... can't you feel it?"

He looks down. "Betamon, there are creatures there that need our help. We can't just... hide from whatever it is, besides it'll be eight of us to face whatever it is and a lot of you guys have evolved at a high level of power. We'll be fine. Come on, buddy. I need you." He looks hopefully down at Betamon, who swallows hard.

"F- fine, but... I don't think it's a good idea," Betamon breathes out. He trudges forward, aware that Seth is worried about his tag team partner, eager to check out anything just in case it leads them to finding the various digidestined missing.

The closer they get, the more pockets of data are floating around, showing where recently deleted digimon once were. Seth feels ill at the death and destruction around them, entire houses and stone buildings collapsed along the path. Then he sees it, just as Alicia cries out and runs forward despite Tamina and Carmella trying to stop her. "Alicia! No!" he barks out but it's too late, she touches the downed Chocomon, making soft, comforting noises when-

There's a blast of energy and Chocomon grows- grows- grows... into Mastemon, a half-angel, half-demon digimon who sneers at Alicia. One minute the group of them are standing there dumbly and the next, there's a blank, deep space before them, engulfing everything, as Mastemon raises her arms.

Seth doesn't even have time to yell before he's swallowed up by it as well.


	195. chapter 195

Mastemon sighs. Eyes an Ice Devimon as she shifts anxiously in the ranks. The Digidestined are surrounded, their partners separated from them by a barrier her fellows had painstakingly created. This plan had been carefully put together, the group of them working together to make sure that none of them would survive. One partner had already been claimed, not that Mastemon was exactly thrilled with that because they were all supposed to be exterminated together, but whatever weakens them isn't entirely a bad thing.

He watches as the digimon stir, their human counterparts still down for the count. They hit the barrier, begin to panic. He laughs at them, cruel and mocking. Their cries are muffled, only a whisper against the strength of their will against them. Even so, it's not long before the Digidestined begin to awaken. Find themselves in a circle of the strongest digimon he could locate. Most look on stubbornly, angrily, but some are already shattered- Kevin, without Bearmon, and Shinsuke, jittery and shocked through with electricity. He lifts his hand and peers at them through his fingers, smirking. "So, Digidestined." She laughs, feeling a little like a lawyer or some ridiculous notion like that. "For crimes against our world..." She sighs, already tiring of it. "So." She paces in front of the humans, eyeing them coolly. Kicks at Kevin, watches him twitch, his face grim and pale. Shinsuke grits his teeth in pain when she does the same to him. "My fellow digimon have tried to handle you all separately in the past, but it never worked. So we figured out a way to bring you all here. First a little at a time... then once I was at my proper power level, the rest of you." She stretches her arms out, her power brushing against their flesh. "Now there's nothing you can do about the circumstances you find yourselves to be in."

Shinsuke is still in agony but he locks eyes with her. "You may think so, but... we will find a way." His words in English are stuttery, not very intimidating, but she blinks when he switches to Japanese, flowing much easier, promising to figure out a way to rain down destruction upon all of them at once.

Her lips twitch up into a smirk and she shifts her wings, floating closer to him as she digs her claws into his jaw, hoisting him up away from the others, eyeing him. "I don't know how you plan that," she says mockingly. "But I look forward to your attempts." Tosses him aside and listens with some smugness as he gasps out in pain, Zack Ryder trying to assist him. She's laughing at the feable attempts by their partners to break through the barrier when... there's a rush of wind past her face and a sharp sound of something shattering behind her.

"My lady!" the IceDevimon yells out. "Hawkmon-" But she knows already. Something is lurking in their midst, already deleting one in their ranks. She counts the partner digimon before her and frowns, seeing no change in their numbers.

"Who is it that dares to-" Duskmon is gone next. She glares at thin air, thinking she sees a shimmer of power, and then IceDevimon shatters into nothing before her eyes. She glowers and storms over to the digidestined once more, hoisting Shinsuke up once more as he glares down at her beadily. "It doesn't matter how many of the weaklings I alligned myself with you destroy. As long as I breathe, you will not survive this." She starts to shake him hard, his head lulling from side to side, when something slashes through her, sending her arching forward in agony. "What the-?!" Another slash along her wrist and Shinsuke falls from her grasp once more, Zack scrambling to grab him. "Ravmon," she hisses, gripping at thin air and grimacing as the creature appears, resembling her with one dark wing and one lighter. He's lean and solid, eyes glinting angrily. "If you're here, that means..."

And then she can sense him. Kazuchika Okada. One of the other Japanese Digidestined, strong enough to travel from world to world as he pleases. She huffs and lifts a hand towards him, her power seeping towards him. His teeth flash as he laughs at her, Ravmon countering her attempt and sending more pain stabbing down her spine as he flashes back in behind her. She blinks as more of her fellows shatter into data, none of them sure what to do. She twists, tries to create another gate to take them all away from Ravmon's power, but she's met by a massive tornado that immediately tears her gate to shreds, tattering her wings as she gets tangled up in it for a few moments before breaking free. Before long, the others are destroyed, and it's just her and Okada facing off against each other, the barrier still keeping partners from digidestined.

He seems unfazed, Shinsuke's dark eyes locked on his sure form, and then Ravmon shreds through her with his claw. Mastemon barely flinches, trying to summon more digimon to her to ease her mission, but she freezes, looking down in shock as Ravmon's claws pierce through her wings, leaving her flightless, vulnerable on the floor of the dimension they find themselves in. "If you destroy me, you're all going to be stranded here," she chokes out.

Okada's voice is more brutal than Shinsuke's, his English slow but somewhat more put together than Shinsuke, his tone making it clear that he's cold and disinterested by her claims. "I am not concerned. We found a way in, we will find a way out." He motions to his partner and Ravmon fazes in, thrusting his wing straight through her and shattering her into pure data, which quickly fades away. The world begins to quake at her loss, the barrier disappearing. As Digimon are reunited with Digidestined, Okada moves over to Shinsuke and pulls him to his feet, searching his slack face. "We need to get out of here," he informs him, Shinsuke nodding slowly as he tries to breathe through the pain.

Ravmon lifts his wings, his claws outstretched, and he digs in, exploiting the weakness in the cracks that Mastemon had used to break into this dimension. Soon, they can see a growing slit where the digiworld appears, and he slices his way out, turning to hold the opening open as the others gingerly make their way out to safety. Shinsuke and Okada are the last two to make their way out, eyeing each other before taking that leap together.

Kevin still looks wrecked, watching the others reunite with their partners. He closes his eyes, gripping his digivice hard. "Bearmon," he mumbles, lips trembling as he aches for his friend.

Shinsuke wavers, then squeezes Okada's arm. "Arigato." They speak quietly in Japanese before Okada inclines his head to the others, turning to take his leave back to Japan and his preparations for WK12.

Seth clears his throat anxiously, all of them hurting in different ways. His dark eyes rest on Dean for a moment before he turns towards the others. He knows they should communicate with Luke, but some things are more important right now. "Come on, let's go home. Get some rest. Figure out what we're going to do next later. It's been a long few days." He holds out his digivice and sighs as the others eagerly follow suit, all of them relieved to be getting out of here finally.


	196. chapter 196

Alicia looks confused. "So, Luke said..."

Seth exhales. "Luke said there are others. Like Okada. Some who are strong enough that they don't _need_ a group of people with them to get to the digiworld. That their own abilities are enough. Like Shinsuke." He casts a glance at her. "We weren't the first, we won't be the last. Any number of people could be digidestined, or will become digidestined soon. And since there's a lot of turnover in wrestling, well..." He waves his hand in frustration and she grimaces.

"I see." None of them like the thoughts of getting comfortable as a team just for some random with more experience than all of them combined to come in and wreck things. But that appears to be the reality they find themselves to be in. She understands a lot of Seth's frustration stems from both Dean Ambrose being temporarily off of the team due to his injury, and how Jason is trying to worm himself in as second in command of the Raw team of digidestined, which definitely rubs Seth the wrong way. Sure enough, Jason tries to approach them and Seth's face tenses up in anger. "Walk faster," he mumbles to her, desperate to avoid him... but there's just no way.

She offers him a sympathetic glance before leaning over to pick Palmon up, walking determinedly away as the current tag team champions begin arguing lowly. She hums, sniffing Palmon's pleasant fragrance... when the ground shakes. They all stop, Jason even finally, mercifully, shutting up for a few minutes. She looks around, slowly taking in her surroundings, before letting out a sharp, short scream as a tall digimon lunges down, slashing through their ranks with a spear designed like a drill, knocking them away one by one until his weapon is aimed directly at Seth's chest. Jason is frozen on the ground a few feet away, gaping at this, when Seth stands tall and glowers at the monstrous digimon. "Now's not the time to fuck with me," he informs the creature, Betamon already growing with the pure power of warp digivolution behind him, MetalSeadramon snapping at him- just to get right handed back, out of his partner's range of sight.

It's no lie to anyone observing that Seth is in big danger but, considering most are tending to their own wounds, or their partners' after that long sword slashed through all of them without anyone of them noticing much else in time, this leaves it to Alicia, who'd been the few who only got knocked off of their feet, the attack apparently lsoing strength the longer it goes. Jäger Dorulumon has his sword tucked under Seth's jaw, the threat clear as they all watch on, tense and close to yelling for some reprieve, something to save them... when Lotusmon dives forward and tackles the evil digimon away, saving Seth from an awful death. He gingerly reaches up and touches the bead of blood dripping down from where the tip of the sword was pressed against his flesh, a frightened, awed look on his face.

Lotusmon dives and dances in mid-air to avoid his sword, his other attacks, volleying with her flowered staff and caduceus at random intrevals. Auras of various colors are pouring from her weapons, blinding those watching and even giving Jager Dorulumon pause sometimes, before he rushes forward and attacks again, slamming her into the ground. She stirs quickly, however, and lunges at him, Alicia's desperation fueling her. She grunts, using both staffs to hold back his drill sword as he tries once more to pierce her delicate skin, Alicia almost crying at how close this all is, the danger her partner's in... and then there's a roar and a massive blast of energy covers Jager Dorulumon, MetalSeadramon taking advantage of the moment to attack. Lotusmon rebounds as well, then, landing a solid strike with her flower staff, sending the evil digimon into what it seems to find a perfect world to be... just to stand there long enough for MetaiSeadramon to send another huge blast of energy from the cannon on its snout that slams right into Jager Dorulumon's middle and destroys him immediately.

While the other digidestined collect themselves and their partners, Alicia and Seth stand side by side and watch the wave of data wash over them, fade away into nothing. "Thank you," Seth tells her quietly.

"Any time," she says, leaning over to hoist Palmon up. They're still standing there when she notices Seth's appraising gaze on her. "What?" she asks, wondering if she really looks that awful.

"I think... while Dean's gone... I want you to be my second in command. If anything happens to me, you're in charge. How does that sound?"

She mulls it over. Stares at him for a few moments, then grins. "I think it sounds pretty perfect. Thank you, I won't let you down." She knows his real motivation- because now Jason won't be able to argue with his decision, but she's ok with it.

It's hard to be petty in a world constantly on the brink of disaster with only their group willing to come and help when possible.


	197. chapter 197

Carmella hasn't admitted it to anyone since he'd left, had tried to act proud of her part in James' getting fired, but she's not. She misses him so much that it aches somewhere deep down inside of her, leaving her feeling like she's walking around in quick sand, head foggy and thoughts barely there. The only person aware is her partner, SunFlowmon, and she thinks that's ok. Why weigh James- or anyone else- down with all of this when she barely can make sense of it herself?

The Smackdown digidestined are traveling from one blip on the map to the next, trying to help where they can, Carmella bored because with SunFlowmon unable to digivolve past her rookie form, they're really just there to observe, unless the digimon they find themselves facing off against are low levels of power as well, and... She sighs. She's bored. And again, lonely.

The others are ahead of her, examining Shinsuke's digivice, when things grow cold. Dark around her. She blinks, looks down. SunFlowmon is staring up at her in fear, seeing the same things as her. She leans down and picks her up, holding her close, as color and light reintroduces itself to this ... whatever it is, surrounding them. Carmella blinks again, her breath catching in her throat.

James is sprawled out before her, bleeding from numerous cuts over his body, and a dirty looking rabbit is in his arms, James' tears dripping down the creature's fur. "Hang on, Gazimon," he begs his partner and Carmella is about to go up to him when things _shift_ and... she's looking at herself. This version of herself walks up to James, kicking him away from Gazimon and planting the sole of her sneakers against his chest, pressing him down into the dirt. There's an evil sneer on her face and Carmella can do nothing but gape at this bastardization of their relationship, James pleaing for her to stop when she presses her shoe against his throat, ridding him of both speech and oxygen.

He scrabbles at her shoes, fresh tears trailing down his cheeks, but all he can do is stare up at her, eyes deep grey and desperate as the life is rid from him.

She screams and this world disappears as quickly as it appeared, Carmella finding herself back with the others, who are staring at her in mixes of concern and aggravation. She swipes at her eyes and swallows hard, biting her lip. "Sorry," she breathes, realizing they're ok. James isn't even here. Hasn't been back to the digiworld since he was fired.

It's shaken them all up, though, and they give up on further missions for the day. Carmella blinks up at the sky for a few moments before finding her cell phone and dialing a number she's been ignoring for the last few weeks. It rings and rings until finally clicking in and his voice, strong but gentle, calm and patient, sends a relieved shiver up her spine. "Hello?"

"Hey, Jimmy," she says softly. "I know it's been awhile... how are you doing?"

He doesn't hang up, which to her is the best possible sign, and they settle into comfortable conversations as she settles down against the wall and smiles, some weight leaving her shoulders.

Back in the digiworld, Shakamon watches her the best he can from this distance. Ancient Garurumon seems unimpressed. "What of The Miz?" he asks, speaking of the other digidestined Shakamon keeps an eye on.

Shakamon shrugs. "I can observe two," he says quietly, golden balls of energy cycling faster around his body. "These humans... some of them intrigue me..."


	198. chapter 198

Soft. Gentle. Calm. Jason Jordan's eyes flutter open as he frowns up at the ceiling of the hotel room he's in. Singing. "Who's singing?" he grumbles. Definitely not his tag partner, Seth's voice sounds like a dying cat on a good day. This is feminine, beautiful. He feels like it's reaching deep inside of him, trying to sooth his aches and pains.

The vocal melody is still fresh in his mind when they travel to the digiworld after the week's Raw, Jason humming it listlessly as they go from village to village. He's unable to do much, his nagging injury and Poyomon's inability to power up past his current level eating at him. He doesn't say anything, however, not wanting to make the baby creature feel bad, but still. He wonders...

It just takes one misstep while he's distracted with these wayward thoughts. He doesn't even step down fully before there's a squawk at his feet and then a flash of blue and a sharp pain throbbing through his skull. He gasps and grabs at his head, hearing footsteps behind him, a hand on his back and Seth's voice speaking to... someone. "Hey, little guy, it's ok. Shhhh."

Jason squints over at him, finding him holding an Otamamon, who's clearly panicking. "I didn't mean to step on him," he mumbles. "Ow, he headbutted me."

"Yeah, they do that," Betamon says. "They're little so it's their best way to defend themselves."

"I understand," he sighs. But his vision is spotty and his steps aren't very solid as he walks off, Poyomon looking up at him worriedly. _The last thing I need right now is a concussion,_ he thinks, walking out of sight from the others before slumping down against a rocky wall, touching his forehead. A small trickle of blood, but he's still so dizzy. "Remind me to watch where I'm walking next time, Poyomon," he slurs, eyes slipping closed as his partner makes faint, distressed noises.

He's barely concious but he notices a bright glow and tries to open his eyes when he feels a soft touch against his face, a familiar voice singing to him. He whimpers as a soothing power brushes over his body, easing most of his aches and pains. Eyes opening, he's surprised to find he's not as dizzy, can even sit up and stare in confusion at the pale blue creature before him. "Poyomon?"

She giggles, her singing ceasing. "No, my apologies. I am Sirenmon." She flaps her wings, spinning in a slow circle around him. "Here is your partner. He digivolved on his own."

Gummymon is a bit bigger than the baby form he'd had before, and this time cries out "Jason!" as he bounds into his partner's arms.

"You can talk now," he breathes out.

"It was Gummymon's cries that led me to you," Sirenmon says softly. "All of you Digidestined have an... shall we say, overseer and we're not supposed to show ourselves to you unless we deem it necessary. I decided this was one of those moments. That Otamamon clearly didn't know its own strength. You were bleeding internally thanks to its headbutt. You're fine now, I've healed you." She flutters down towards him, brushing her fingers tenderly over where he'd found the small amount of blood before. "Take advantage of the time off they're giving you, yes? You've earned it."

"I'll try," he sighs, pulling himself up. "Thank you, Siren-" But she's gone, disappearing between one blink and the next.

"JASON! Where _are_ you?!" It's Seth. Of course.

"Over here," Jason yells back with a smirk, tossing Gummymon up in the air before catching him, making his partner squeak in pleased surprise. "C'mon, little guy. Let's get back to the others."


	199. chapter 199

With it being Rumble week, a lot of the Raw guys are mingling with the Smackdown guys, so both groups end up going to the digiworld together. Which means Chad and Jason are wandering together, still tense after their sniping fest backstage before the PPV. Though, Chad thinks, Jason still looks discombobulated from getting smacked into the post. And Chad's just pissed from losing two to zero to the Usos. Which he thinks he may never get over. He checks his digivice and mutters a low curse, there still a _lot_ of random red dots all over the map. "Damn," he sighs, not in the mood to help anyone with anything.

Jason casts a curious glance his way but says nothing, content to trudge along in silence, his steps still a little uneven. Chad figures he's probably in no hurry to go back and deal with Seth after their own humiliating loss. They've gone another mile when Chad sees a blue baby digimon with horns and miniature wings. Still beyond angry, he arches back and kicks at the digimon, not even really hitting him, just scuffing the dirt around him, but apparently that's more than enough.

Blue skin turning bright red, Petitmon rears back. "Hot BREATH!" he yells out, flames shooting out from his mouth.

Chad yelps and jumps away, gaping as the flames strike Jason instead, immediately spreading over his shirt. "Ah hell!" he curses, barely paying the digimon any mind as Gummymon and Punimon run him off, leaving Chad to focus on Jason as he takes his own shirt off and smothers the flames with the fabric.

"I, I think it's out," Jason says when Chad just stands there, holding him awkwardly.

"I know," he mumbles, closing his eyes. "I just- I'm sorry, ok? Things kinda suck right now, and I keep taking it out on you, and I shouldn't do that. We both get how this business is." He smiles wanly. "We split amicably. I wish it could stay that way."

"I think it can," Jason says. 'We'll only see each other a few times a year anyway, right? Might as well make the most of them."

Chad exhales. "Right," he whispers, moving away and checking Jason's chest. "You didn't get burnt, did you?"

"Nothing serious, I'll get some burn cream, but it's just minor," Jason says, picking at a couple of reddened spots along his collar bone. "Thanks to you."

Chad smiles wearily. Nudges Jason and then falls into step with him, relieved and hurting all at the same time.


	200. chapter 200

It is excessively hot here. Zack Ryder finds himself drenched in sweat as soon as he'd taken a step on this island. He's tempted to take his shirt off just to try to feel the wind on his skin, but he assumes the others would not like that much, so he refrains. Even so, the heat makes him lag behind, just barely keeping the others within view while Patamon rests on his shoulder, adding to his discomfort. "Aw come on, bro, can't you walk on your own or fly or something? It's too hot for this!" he complains to his partner, who looks at him curiously before taking to the air briefly before flopping down at Zack's feet and starting to walk normally.

He's just turned a corner to get the others in sight again when... he stops short, the heat creeping even higher, and he can feel the soles of his shoes bubbling. "Uhhhhh, Patamon?!" he demands, relieved that his partner is in the air again, staring on in horror next to him. The ground before them is pure lava. "I can't-" His feet are burning, there's no way, but thankfully Patamon can digivolve, and does.

Seraphimon moves quickly, hoisting Zack up and flying him to safety, setting him down on a hilly little cliff away from the streams of lava, before returning to face off with the creature who made sure to separate them from the other digidestined- Ancient Volcamon. "You again," he says coolly, flinching when another flood of lava is shot straight at him, only just managing to avoid the attack before swooping in and slashing at him with his sword, which digs through Lord Volcamon's body, revealing that it's little more than lava that pieces itself back together rather quickly. Stymied briefly, Seraphimon drifts out of range of another attack and struggles to think.

"Seraphimon!" Zack calls out, digivice in hand. His partner glances at him but ultimately keeps his focus on the evil creature before them. Before anything else could be said, Ancient Volcamon rears back, the volcano-like structure on his back abruptly erupting, giving him force and power as he blasts forward and punches Seraphimon, sending him careening back into the hill Zack's perched precariously on. "Crap!" Zack cries out as the rocks shift beneath his feet.

Seraphimon struggles back to his feet, winded and more than a little covered in soot, when AncientVolcamon rushes at them again, more flames pouring from its volcano towards both Seraphimon and Zack. The angel digimon moves quickly, taking as much of the flames as he can to protect Zack. "No!" he cries out, voice sounding funny as his powers begin to fail him and his body shivers and shimmers.

"Seraphimon!" Zack yells out, gripping his digivice as he holds it up, hoping for some miracle- anything to stop this- when there's a loud sound like an explosion very near to Zack's head and the flames overwhelming Seraphimon suddenly stop. He jumps and freezes, fearful that the next blast would shoot through him or through Seraphimon and end everything... but no, he's still staring ahead, eyes locked on a suddenly struggling AncientVolcamon, and someone lands smoothly next to him. He swallows and turns his head enough to see. "Dolph?"

"Hey kid."

Zack closes his eyes as Beelzebumon flies forward, yelling some strange combination of words. Between his claws and Seraphimon's sword, they make relatively quick work of AncientVolcamon, already weakened from Beelzebumon's shot straight through his chest that had caved in the core of his volcano. "You came," he mumbles, opening his eyes and looking over.

"Course I did," Dolph shrugs, acting like the last few weeks of hearing nothing from him hadn't affected the Smackdown digidestined team. Hadn't affected Zack.

It's tempting to punch him, to yell at him, to really lay into him for abandoning them when they needed him the most, but instead Zack just exhales hard and throws his arms around his jerk of a best friend, waiting him out until he relaxes and hugs back. "Thanks for the save, bro."


	201. chapter 201

Injuries. Firings. Just plain people leaving. A _lot_ has diminished the Raw team's side. Mike stares from Seth to Heath to TJ and swallows. Honestly, it's bad. With Enzo fired, and Jason Jordan out with a neck injury, things are only continually getting worse. Even Seth is subdued, which, Mike supposes, is understandable, since two of his tag partners have fallen in the last three months. Thankfully they're not too desperate power wise, his partner and Heath's at least can reach mega level. But it is curious that, after all of this time, Seth's partner only evolves to mega level rarely. And of course TJ, after his three months away, has only managed to get his partner up to champion. Both things that need work on, Mike thinks.

But for now, they have to focus on the red dots around them. Digimon in trouble, villages in danger of being wiped out by forces much stronger than they are. He stares down at his digivice and pretends to listen to Seth telling them what to do in the upcoming battle. His suggestions are weak, his eyes are darting, and it's clear he's uncertain and weary after the last few months of his wrestling career. So Mike does what Mike does best. He talks. "Heath and I have the strongest digimon," he speaks up, talking over Seth's weak diatribe. "We should be at the forefront of things. MegaSeadramon and Birdramon should watch over things from the sea and air respectively. Considering there's only four of us, we have to be smart with our power, and how we divide up our individual strengths."

Seth looks annoyed at first, being out-talked and ran circles around in strategy, but he ultimately sighs and waves at the others to follow Mike's suggestions. Heath's perked up at the first mention of his name, but neither TJ or Seth seem interested beyond making their partners evolve to the required levels. Not that Mike cares, they need _some_ leadership and if Seth's head isn't in the game, then he supposes it should fall to him. So he grits his teeth and leads the way determinedly to where the nearest red dot is.

The destruction is obvious, early. And the cause isn't even trying to be discreet, thudding around through a row of small shacks that comprised these Digimon's homes only a few hours ago, still setting off massive explosions here and there. Cannondramon ignores their approach, keeps destroying more and more of the village. Justimon's approach doesn't even gain his focus, despite having to dodge the multiple cannons being shot from the creature's back. Between Justimon and Duftmon, they have him boxed in, but he doesn't even blink. Simply continues alternating between shooting beams out and sending grenades flying, more houses collapsing, more explosions wiping out whatever's left. Mike does not like any of this, especially considering how Cannondramon is staunchly ignoring them. "Attack!" he orders his partner, Justimon immediately closing in.

Electricity pours from his arms and sizzles over Cannondramon's body, digging past his weapons and armor to singe his flesh, but Cannondramon barely flinches as he continues attacking, only deviating enough to shoot beams of energy at Justimon, who dodges quickly and then flies in for another attack, kicking Cannondramon at warp speed... just to take a grenade to the face, the explosion enough to send him flying back. Duftmon tries to assist but gets the same treatment, Cannondramon then roaring in aggravation before sending his tail out, sweeping away everything- digimon and digidestined alike.

"Ow," Seth mutters. "MegaSeadramon!" His partner perks up at this and rushes towards Cannondramon, electricity blasting through his horn. He's agile for his size and avoids a lot of what Cannondramon attempts to stop him, finally landing an impressive blow- stabbing his horn straight through Cannondramon's weapons, warping them and leaving him unable to blast out his beams as easily. He roars in anger just to look up in time for Justimon's fist to appear once more, electricity once more targetting Cannondramon's vulnerable spots and succeeding this time as he roars and writhes away, trying to focus an attack- just for Duftmon to swing his sword down and cleave Cannondramon clean in two with the force of his strength.

They all watch quietly as the destructive digimon deletes in an angry sea of data before drifting away into the sky. It doesn't save the village, or bring back all the digimon he deleted, but it's at least one more bit of peace brought to the world. Mike thinks it's an ok bit of progress, even with their limited numbers. He catches Seth's eye and they nod grimly at each other, moving with Heath, TJ, and their partners to look for any possible survivors in the wreckage. _It's going to be a long road,_ Mike thinks. _And maybe we'll be lucky and Luke will decide to add more digidestined to the group... but either way, I think we're gonna be just fine._


	202. chapter 202

Rusev purses his lips, not understanding anything of what he's involved in right now. It had been a Rusev day like many other Rusev days in the past when a weird man appeared before him and informed him he was needed. Although Rusev's initial response had been to scoff and wave him off, his insistent words had broke through Rusev's inclination to ignore him and the next thing Rusev knew, he was in an entirely different world, surrounded by little monsters claiming to be formed of data, consisting off of a digital world comprised of fragments from the internet. Worse than that, one of them had begun clinging to him right away, the man known as Luke explaining that it was his partner, who would assist him in defending both the Digital World and earth.

Things had only grown worse when Rusev learned there was a group of Smackdown wrestlers he'd have to work alongside with- Nakamura, Owens, Ziggler, Carmella, Gable, Ryder and the other new digidestined- Shane McMahon. Tamina had been part of the team, but had gotten injured before they could actually talk much about it all, so that had done away with the one person he kind of liked except for his wife in the company.

As if that was not bad enough, his partner had a mind of its own. Had gone from a small, manageable thing that Rusev could hold in the palm of his hands, to a winged creature with clawed feet and a mischevious grin that always gives Rusev pause when he wakes up in the morning to him hovering by his bed. DemiDevimon, he calls himself, which only adds to Rusev's discomfort.

Luke is talking, right now, giving them instructions, but Rusev is only just listening, distracted by the constant fluttering of his partner's wings right by his head. Finally they're instructed to go, figure out the warning dots on their digivices, and Rusev heads determinedly in his own direction, ignoring the chatter behind him, Shinsuke trying to call him back. "Oh just let him go already so we can get all of this finished!" a frustrated Owens finally yells, voice loud enough to echo back to Rusev, who smirks.

"Yes, let me go," he mumbles, ignoring DemiDevimon as he struggles to keep up with Rusev's stride. The digiworld is a strange place very similar to earth geographically, but also clearly different. All it takes is one quick movement and clouds of data pour up as Rusev tears into the ground, almost amused by the land's protestations of his rough treatment of it. DemiDevimon, to his credit, looks wary, but says nothing as his partner continues to ruin parts of the terrain. It's only when he realizes that he's sweating that he stops, wiping his face off with his merch shirt. "Why is it so hot?" he demands, looking over his shoulder at DemiDevimon.

"I don't know-" His attempt to respond is suddenly cut off by a sizzling ball of flame that just misses both of them, slams between them and gouges a deep cater into the ground. "Holy crap!"

Rusev gapes at it, looks at him, then turns warily to find another huge fireball aiming right for him. He curses in Bulgarian, burying his face in his faces, waiting for the painful scorching of such strong flames, when he realizes he's fallen- DemiDevimon is atop him, glaring over. Flying back up, the creature sends out poison darts to the man made of flame standing only a few feet away.

Meramon bats these away, anger sending his flames up even higher. "No one desecrates my land and lives to talk about it," he says, his eyes shining in darkness. Flies forward and aims a punch at Rusev but- DemiDevimon is there, again, between them and screams out in pain as he takes the hit, his wings immediately crumpling as he falls to the ground, burnt and twitching. Rusev gapes and reaches out for his partner, just to realize Meramon is still watching them, trembling in anger. "HEAT WAVE!" he screams, a fresh flood of fire and magma aiming right at them.

"DemiDevimon!" Rusev cries out, the first time he'd spoken his partner's name aloud. "No!"

A bright flash and faint vibrations from his pocket is Rusev's answer and before he can fully digest everything, DemiDevimon is floating up before his face, the light that Rusev realizes is coming from his digivice enfusing him, easing his pain and suffering. Causing him to grow. Turn into a ghost-type digimon with tattered ends, but fixed eyes and very sharp teeth. Rusev is thankful he's on his side as he turns to look at him quickly before zipping towards Meramon. A hand appears out of nowhere, wraps around Meramon's throat and digs, causing him to choke and writhe before Bakemon throws him aside. "DEATH CHARM!" he cries out, floating ever higher and then releases a rush of chanted words that Rusev cannot catch, summoning forward a wave of darkness that rushes over Meramon. When it subsides, he's limp, lifeless. Already fading away as data pours from the weak spots in his body the attack had left behind.

As soon as he's gone, Bakemon exhales noisily and dedigivolves back to DemiDevimon, spiraling and falling into Rusev's waiting arms as energy fails him. "I've got you," Rusev mumbles. "I... I have you."

He's still not sure what's going on, but DemiDevimon just saved his life, and he thinks that tells him all he really needs to know, despite his partner's name and appearance.


	203. chapter 203

Since losing the Elimination Chamber, neither Miz or Seth are very talkative. In fact, they barely seem _with_ it at all, which TJ figures is to be expected. After all, it's one of the more physical matches WWE's ever done, and both men had taken some brutal hits during it, not to mention the hour+ Seth had wrestled in the gauntlet days before. So this leaves Heath babbling endlessly to his partner and TJ keeping to himself a few feet away.

It's because of this that no one can move fast enough to help him when it happens. TJ barely realizes what's going on at first, blinking slowly as the sky starts to turn this muddy kind of black shade, like he'd put his sunglasses on without realizing it, and then the ground beneath his feet fades away, and- Falcomon squawks anxiously, but before either of them can do anything, a hole opens below TJ and he falls- and falls- and falls, barely enough time to let out a scream before he's gone.

He lands hard on something unforgiving, his entire body spasming in pain as Falcomon drops next to him. They both pant in agony, their bodies straining, when he hears it: A kind of whirring noise. Ignoring the pain stabbing through him, he looks up in time to see a digimon who looks a little like a chess piece staring down at him. "Falcomon," he chokes out, before passing out right then, right there.

"Bishop Chessmon," is the first thing he hears when he struggles back into something resembling consciousness. TJ blinks up at the purple and black creature before him as he slams his scepter into the ground hard enough to shoot sparks up. "You stepped into my territory. That cannot be permitted. Check."

TJ groans. He'd never been good at chess. He struggles waveringly to his feet and looks down to find Falcomon also up, just barely. He holds his digivice out and exhales when Falcomon successfully digivolves to Birdramon. Still not enough strength wise but it's still a comfort to have his partner's larger form by his side. Even so, no matter what they try, how much heat Birdramon throws at Bishop Chessmon, it's not enough. Bishop Chessmon is always one step ahead, able to shoot back anything thrown at him with three times the force. Birdramon, already weak, tires quickly, and eventually drops almost on top of TJ, which is frightening in a number of different ways.

"Birdramon!" he cries out, running to his partner and trying to figure out how to fix this, what to do to get them out of this situation. "Come on, come on-" But there's nothing for it. He can feel Bishop Chessmon right behind him and he cringes, closing his eyes and preparing for death as the tip of the digimon's scepter in the lower part of his spine. He manages to reach out and graze Birdramon's wing one last time before-

There's an explosion of sound, his digivice is going insane in his hand, and- Something white hot and _familiar_ strikes TJ in the chest and he grasps it, feeling it form in his fingers. His crest! It dangles from his fingers as he gapes down at it, recognizing the shape of the design within the tag. "Devotion," he breathes out, feeling oddly choked up all of a sudden.

The power flows through him, into Birdramon, and the next thing he knows, his partner is whole once more, upright, squeeching at Bishop Chessmon as he glows so brightly that even TJ has difficulty looking right at him. "Birdramon digivolve to...!"

Parrotmon is intimidating, TJ thinks, his partner taking the fight away from him so he'll be safe, snagging Bishop Chessmon in his talons like he weighs nothing, depositing him a good mile away. They seem even in power levels now, whatever advantage Bishop Chessmon may have seeming diminished in the strength behind Parrotmon's first time reaching this level. Lightning and lasers explode against each other, Parrotmon tearing and clawing at Bishop Chessmon every chance he gets. TJ grows even more relieved at Parrotmon taking the battle away from him when he rans into Bishop Chessmon with the force of a minor explosion, sending him flying back into a cliff, which crumbles as he slides down it.

He tries to regain himself, even hoists his scepter up and starts scratching the shape of a cross into the sky, preparing some other, dreadful attack, but Parrotmon is right there. Squeeches as he collects more electricity and shoots it at close range right into Bishop Chessmon's chest, burrowing straight through and leaving him struggling against the rocks cascading around his prone body as he looks down at the gaping hole in his body. He tries to finish his attack but Parrotmon strikes again, sending the scepter flying from his numb hands with a well-timed strike from his talons.

With little more than the usual glower on his face, Bishop Chessmon dies quietly right there, his data scattering into the peaceful horizon as TJ hesitantly joins Parrotmon. The partners look at each other, TJ licking his lips. "Now... how do we get out of here?"

In the end, they're met in the middle by Seth, Heath and Miz, their digivices leading them straight to TJ as Parrotmon had navigated through the bumpy terrain TJ's own map on his device had directed him through just to get to this point.

"Hey!" Heath greets him enthusiastically. "Falcomon digivolved again, huh? Awesome! Guess ya found your tag then!"

TJ chuckles as Parrotmon dedigivolves back down to his rookie form and lands calmly on TJ's shoulder. "Yep," he mumbles, reaching up to stroke his partner's feathers as he looks from Seth to Miz to Heath. Nothing much has changed, but Seth claps him on the back, and Mike nods at him, and TJ smirks as he falls in line next to Heath, listening to his inane chattering with a comfortable sense that he's right where he belongs.


	204. chapter 204

Shane McMahon doesn't get this world. This Digiworld. He feels like it's something he should ask his sons about, but he can't talk about it. Luke had warned him, Seth Rollins even had warned him the last time both shows were at the same arena a few weeks back for the Royal Rumble. He sighs and rubs his hands together briskly, wishing more Smackdown people he trusted were here. Like, AJ. Or something. But no, he's trapped with Owens' piercing stare, Carmella's unimpressed glower, Rusev's belittling sarcasm, and Chad Gable's pure disgust. "Not easy being the commissioner," he mumbles to his partner, the only person seems happy to spend time with him.

Armadillomon is a golden skinned beast with armored skin, defending himself by rolling into a ball. If that doesn't work, he has claws almost longer than Shane's fingers so Shane knows he can take care of himself if need be. Even so, Shane feels uncomfortable here, out of his depth. Shinsuke, enigmatic man that he is, senses it despite the language barrier, and eases up to him with a patient smile on his face. "Hello, Shinsuke," Shane greets his Royal Rumble winner, and his face creases happily.

"Hello." They stand side by side for awhile. "It gets... easier," he offers. "When I... was first chosen, I was lost and... confused as well. But give it... time. You will get used to it. We are here for you."

Shane casts a glance over his shoulder at the others, still feeling disliked, unwanted. "I know you are, Shinsuke. Thank you," he says as diplomatically as he can, smiling up at the only man here who probably half-way likes him. He thumbs at his digivice anxiously and shakes his head, staring at the growing sea of red dots that always seems so overwhelming at first, and takes so long to wade through even with the Raw team's help.

In the end, it's Zack Ryder who calls to him. "Hey, bro! C'mon! We're going!" Shane blinks a few times before jogging over to join the group, ignoring the flat stares aimed at him as they head out.

Ends up not being one digimon, or even just two. It's a whole village worth of creatures attacking, young, old, rookie, mega. They're drowning quickly, taking damage from places they weren't even sure were places. They're all down, gasping for some sort of reprieve, when Shane sees it. A shadow when he dares shift his head to the left. Weird flowing energy pouring from just inside of the front gates. He crawls desperately towards his partner, tapping Armadillomon until he uncurls, greatly less damaged in comparison to the others thanks to his great defense. "Shane?" he hisses, startled.

"I think I see the cause of all of this," Shane hisses to him. It's slow, it's painful, each movement sending a new barrage of attacks at them, but Shane shields Armadillomon as best as he can and they move inch by painstaking inch towards what Shane's spotted. The creature's eyes are glowing red, its body a strange mix of silver alloy and yellow with blue lines crisscrossing it. The gleam of energy pours from him, covering the entirety of the village before them. "I think he's possessing everyone," Shane mutters.

"Why not me? Or the other digidestined?" Armadillomon hisses back.

"Perhaps because we arrived recently and he hasn't adjusted for us yet," Shane suggests. "Or he's too busy controlling those he _has_ possessed and can't spread himself any thinner."

"Either way, we have to stop him before he does try it," he whispers, claws at the ready as he jumps at Logimon, rolling into a ball and striking him with everything he's got. Except that the creature barely flinches and Armadillomon gapes at him.

"Try again," Shane urges, so this time his partner rears back and scratches Logimon from head to feet with everything he's got. Still no sign of pain or weakness. "What the-"

The attack is unexpected, washes over both of them and leaves them in so much agony there's not even a chance to scream as pure plasma blasts over their skin, hot and unforgiving. Shane digs his nails into the ground while Armadillomon writhes next to him, their bodies burning, scorching under the force of the head-on attack. He spits, he struggles, but there's nothing he can do now but lay here, grip his digivice, try just to breathe. "Armadillomon," he pants, tears pouring down his face. From the pain, or realization that he might not even make it out of here alive.

He moans as fresh light pours over him, Shane bracing for more pain, perhaps death, when... time slows. Power tickles at his consciousness, and he forces his eyes open in time to see the glow cover Armadillomon. His partner grows, his voice alters, and he yells out, "Armadillomon digivolve tooo...!" A tall, yellow beast with spiked fur, and massive grey paws, he carries a bone club over his back, and even Shane is somewhat intimidated by him. "HANUMON!"

Hanumon is... well, the only probable word for this creature is impressive. Shane can only lay and watch as Hanumon's eyes narrow right onto Logimon. He moves at the speed of light, teeth bared as he pulls his bone club forward and strikes Logimon, once, with force, across the chest, sending him flying and snapping his control over the village. Just like that. Logimon gapes, thrusted back into the real world, and all Shane can do is laugh at the startled, pained look on the creature's face. He tries to fight back with more plasma but Hanumon sidesteps it with ease, flames forming along his fists before he punches Logimon again and again until finally he wavers, a cry of pain comes from him and he shatters into a million pieces, his reign of terror over this village officially over.

Hanumon stands for a moment or two before turning to look at Shane intently. Shane _almost_ feels uncomfortable, but then his partner reaches down and pulls him to his feet, dusting him off as carefully as he possibly can. "I'm gonna be ok," he says, still feeling a little shaky on his feet but knowing that his words are true. He's breathing, he's on his feet. He's had it much worse over his lengthy career. "Let's join the others." So they do, relieved to find that none of them were seriously hurt and that all of the villagers will be alright too, in time.

Shane smiles around at the group, casting another quick glance over at his partner as he helps Shinsuke and Coronamon right a knocked over statue near the front gates. _I think I'm going to grow to like this place just fine._


	205. chapter 205

Luke stares at the calendar before him. Tries to breathe. The only thing he has been telling himself for weeks is there's always steep turnover in this world. Wrestlers get fired, they get injured, they do whatever that takes them off the road, and it's always up to those remaining to hang on, be strong. Which has been easier in the past than now. There are four guys on the Raw roster. Heath, Miz, Seth and TJ. And yes, they keep things together and they've been mostly successful up to this point, but the doubts still reign supreme in Luke'a thoughts. It would take just one screw up, one a,bush of multiple digimon and they could get hurt or worse. He steeples his fingers and sighs. He'd wanted to wait until after Wrestlemania, but he thinks it needs addressed now.

So he does.

-x

Drake Maverick grimaces. Spits some grass out of his mouth and sits up to find he's not alone in this bizarre situation. "Ariya Daivari?" he asks, running shaky fingers through his hair, watching the man mumble under his breath and adjust the collar of his $1600 dollar shirt. "What the bloody hell happened? Where _are_ we?"

"I'm not sure," he says with a disdainful sniff. "I was talking with Drew Gulak and then I blinked and found myself laying not far from you. I _wish_ I knew, trust me." They stare at each other for a few minutes as Drake pulls himself up, dusts himself off.

"I see," he mumbles. Getting no real sense of companionship from Ariya, he's just turned away to see if he can find answers or a clue, _something_ , when a man appears out of nowhere a few feet away. He yelps and backs away, unsure what to expect, until Luke raises his hands and tries to look as unthreatening as possible. "Who the bloody hell are you?" he squeaks out, relieved when Ariya finally moves to join him, both of them gaping at Luke.

"I am not here to harm you," he tells them kindly. "Quite the opposite, actually. I, this world, your fellow wrestlers, we need your help." And so for the next ten minutes, he tells them everything. They run their fingers over the solid plates of their brand new digivices and get to know their new partners, Drake's a friendly enough blue and white furred creature named Gabumon, while Ariya's partner is essentially a pink puppy with a strange golden ring drooping loosely from her neck, introducing herself as Salamon.

Frowning, general manager and wrestler stare at each other, unsure what to think about any of this strange new reality they find themselves thrown into. "What are we supposed to do now?!"

Their answer comes, somewhat, when the rest of the team arrives and TJ Perkins greets them cheerfully, throwing his arms around them and pulling them close. "Welcome to the team, guys! Ready to go explore this world, risk your lives with each breath and ultimately kick some ass?"

Neither seem thrilled when they exchange almost fearful glances at this proclaimation, the only thing keeping them from running back to earth screaming being the hopeful looks in their partners' faces. "Dammit," Ariya sighs, fussing with his collar again.

Drake concurs.


	206. chapter 206

Two weeks to Wrestlemania. Things are already... difficult. Shane is unable to join the group with their scheduled trip to the Digiworld thanks to Sami and Owens' callous attack on him at the end of this week's Smackdown. Shinsuke isn't the only one glaring at Kevin over this. As if headbutting a 70+ year old man wasn't bad enough, now this... He sighs and tries to focus on their surroundings, everything muffled and faded as he scrubs at his face, the low chatter of those around him somehow making his headache worse as he struggles to translate the English into Japanese to make some sense of it all.

He's just turned to say something when he feels a pinprick of pain and looks down, confused, to find a small pink Digimon biting his hand, a determined glower on his face. "Nani!?" he demands, shaking his hand and watching, jaw slacked, as the baby creature is engulfed in light, not evolving to his rookie form or anything like this- no, this baby Koromon bypasses all levels somehow and grows into a mega level digimon, tall, slender and very dangerous as he glares down at them, brandishing sharp claws and a lot of heavy armor and murderous rage.

The other digidestined move, their partners diving to digivolve, but Shinsuke calls out. "No! We will handle it!" The stronger his convictions, the better his English and this message is crystal clear. Coronamon already half-way to Apollomon proves his insistence and everyone holds their breath as the two war-hardened digimon meet in the middle of the plains that they'd been traveling across to get to the latest cry for help marked on their digivice.

It starts off like a brawl, the mega levels exchanging punches, dodging claws, and all around fighting like they belong in a ring almost more than the humans observing. Apollomon seems to have the advantage until MirageGaogamon lands a solid shockwave attack that sends him hard to the ground, all but convulsing into the dust. He spits and snarls as the tall beast stomps down on his midsection, drawing more air from his already taxed system. Except that this ends up being his downfall as flames pour from Apollomon's back, exploding against MirageGaogamon and sending him flying back with a soul-trembling howl of agony.

Before he can recover, Apollomon rolls over and focuses his power as long as he can before using it to propel himself forward and slam into MirageGaogamon with such a strong punch that he can feel his own wrist crack with the power of the blow, watching with some satisfaction as he wavers amd collapses to his knees before deleting in a pile of blue sparks. Apollomon chuckles breathlessly before falling as well, Shinsuke running over to pick up Coronamon as he trembles from some of the attacks he'd fought through to come through the victor. He blinks a few times, then smiles up at his partner. "Are you ok?"

Shinsuke chuckles. "Should we not be asking you that?" he inquires, patting his partner as he falls asleep in Naka,ura's arms. "Come," he urges quietly, turning to the others who all look as relieved as he feels that it had ended relatively easy. "Let's go homw."

He waits patiently until they've all turned away from him to lift his sleeve. There are still teeth marks in his flesh, and... if he didn't know better, he'd swear the wound was turning yellow, his skin puckering and cratering around the bite. Shaking his head, he returns the sleeve to its oeiginal position and follows the group out, deciding he'a seeing things.


	207. chapter 207

"This was a mistake," Seth swallows hard, grasping his arm as Seadramon struggles nearby. Blood is pouring from a shallow wound low on his calf, and more from the slice along his chest that nicked his arm. He wavers, each step hurting, and watches as his partner tries to fight off a young looking warrior Digimon named Spadamon. Every time Seadramon makes some progress, Spadamon turns himself into a weapon and deals more damage, vibrating with dangerous red energy as he tries again and again to impale the sea snake. "Seadramon!"

His partner nods and tries to focus what remains of his energy to digivolve- just for Spadamon to stab straight through his tail, sticking him to the ground. His scream makes Seth's hair stick up on end and he collapses to the ground, whispering for help, pleading for something- anything... But he'd been stupid, had left the group behind to 'scout ahead', needing some time to himself after getting sick of their bickering and petty stupidity as the road to Wrestlemania draws out before them, stressful and tense.

He breathes in and out raspily as fresh pain pours through his chest wound, his hand coming away tinged in red as he wavers in the dirt. "Seadramon-" he tries again, holding his digivice out, hoping for some gleam of power, the activation of his crest. But they're both too damaged, struggling too hard just to breathe for one more minute, their hearts growing weaker as conviction leaves them, Spadamon lunging forward once more with his sword, when-

There's a flash of light and a bird Digimon attacks Spadamon with its claws, a four legged digimon striking him with its hooves, a tall android type creature punching Spadamon far, far away. Seth groans against the ground, struggling to make sense of this, when warm hands rest against his back, guiding him up and over. A soft hiss greets him and then a very British, "Bloody hell, what did he do to you, Seth?"

He blinks tiredly a few times before realizing it's the 205 Live GM, Drake Maverick, and Ariya Daivari, hovering over him, Ariya putting pressure on his chest and arm while Drake fusses over his bleeding leg. Their partner digimon are still too young to help against such a cruel creature, so he's almost relieved to see that it's Heath, TJ and Miz working together to fight off Spadamon and get Seadramon to safety, Strikedramon walking a weary Betamon back over to them, depositing him in Seth's lap before dashing back to the battle.

Seth is focused on his partner, but he notices the climax of the battle- Spadamon turning into the lengthy sword once more, trying to stab straight through Birdramon, just for Strikedramon to blast him away, Moosemon weakening him further with a blast of blue energy that sends him spiraling away, heavy flames coming from Birdramon before he can recover, pouring around his body, overwhelming him until he shatters into pieces of data, raining down upon the grass before drifting away.

Heath, Miz, and TJ all seem to exhale or sigh in relief before Heath turns to Seth. "Y'alright, man?"

"Yeah," he rasps out. "Just gotta get looked at... might need stitches." His eyes lock with Mike's. "But no worries, I'm going to be more than good to go at Wrestlemania."

Mike rolls his eyes and holds his hand out, waiting until he's got a solid grip on Seth's hand and pulled him up to glare straight in his face. "You owe me one," he informs him coolly before letting him go and walking off.

Seth rolls his eyes tiredly and hugs Betamon tighter. "Let's go home, boys," he says as Heath claps him gingerly on the shoulder, the group of them carefully picking over to the portal as Seth limps on his bad leg.


	208. chapter 208

Their limited numbers are hurting them more and more as time goes by. Heath grits his teeth and squints up as Moosemon struggles to put enough distance between himself and the WaruSeadramon who's been stalking them for the last few hours long enough to digivolve further. _We need Duftmon real bad,_ Heath thinks, twisting his hands together before glancing at the others.

MegaSeadramon had been caught unaware by WaruSeadramon's whirlpool, knocked out before he could even try to defend himself. Birdramon, Cyberdramon, both had been taken out about as unceremoniously, and now the human digidestined are kneeling by their partners, Drake Maverick and Ariya Daivari unable to help because their partners haven't yet digivolved high enough to be any real benefit.

Heath pinches his nose and, not for the first or last time, misses Alicia and Dean, those of them with really powerful digimon who probably could've kept this from happening, or at least fought back better than he has been able to. He turns in time to see Moosemon get clipped by a bolt of lightning, crumpling his partner. "Moosemon!" he's just yelled out when there's a burst of strength- thrumming from his digivice, through his startled form into Moosemon, pulling him to his feet. He stomps his hooves, shakes his head wildly, and then digivolves with little to no warning. Within seconds, Duftmon stands there and he looks up at the sky, yelling out in a mix of excitement and confusion before using this burst of strength to slash his sword down hard, WaruSeadramon having to sweep his head around to defend himself with his horn, trying to attack back.

Duftmon, however, is too quick and dives away before lunging forward for another attack, firing explosive energy against him, sending him flying backwards in a writhing mass of scales and electric bursts. One more swipe of his sword and WaruSeadramon screams out in agony, data starting to stream from his body. "No! Impossible!" he screams, trying again and again to attack, which only makes the data pour faster from his taxed body. "I cannot lose-!"

It's a courtesy then to delete him, Duftmon slashing him clean through with his sword and sending him shattering into small pieces of data, his screams fading away into the afternoon air. Heath breathes a little easier once he's gone and the two of them go around and check on the other digidestined, relieved to find their partners are all going to be ok with a little rest.

So focused on each other, none of the digidestined see the creature lurking nearby. Ancient Wisemon's yellow eyes flash under his purple, white and green covering as he watches Heath. "Yes, you will do quite nicely, Digidestined," he says simply before disappearing as quietly as he'd appeared,


	209. chapter 209

Temporarily reinstated, Kevin Owens glares at the group of digidestined scattered around. Shane McMahon isn't far off, walking gingerly, hand pressed against his stomach as he indulges Armadillomon's chatter with a half-hearted chuckle here and there. It's dumb with a capital D, Kevin knows, but he's desperate. He's angry. So he thrusts his digivice out and wills it to do something- help him in some way, send a blast of energy towards Shane and weaken him, leave Daniel all alone for their match, or... something.

But it doesn't respond and he finds himself even more frustrated as he throws his digivice into the distance, Bearmon gaping after it as Kevin storms off in the other direction. "Uhhh," his partner murmurs, shuffling off to get the digivice from where it'd embedded in the rock wall not too far from where Shane had been standing.

Kevin's standing there, his hands dug into his pocket when he hears footsteps behind him. "I'm fine, just leave me alone-" he's mumbling, when he feels something sharp prick against his neck, along his jaw up to his eye. It's then that he realizes the Digimon next to him isn't his partner. No, this creature resembles a lion with a humanoid figure. And a very sharp dagger in the hand outstretched towards him. He swallows hard. "Listen, I didn't know you were there, I'm just gonna back up and-" His words die away as the dagger shifts up his face, leaving behind a short line of blood along his cheek. He pales under the wound and rocks back, not surprised when the weapon follows his movement, threatening to make the wound wider, blood already dripping more insistently into his beard.

He struggles to breathe, not to panic, when there's a yell and Bearmon appears, his weight enough to send Kevin backwards and barrel Mach Leomon in the opposite direction. He twists in time to toss Kevin his digivice but pays for all of this when he releases a choked kind of yell, Kevin watching in terror as something sharp and silver is thrusted through his partner's chest, then is pulled out, data pouring everywhere. "Bearmon!" he yells, taking a few desperate steps forward- just to be stopped by his partner glowing with a bright light, injuries closed and energy a bit more stable as Gryzmon turns to face Mach Leomon- but more stab wounds quickly pepper his vulnerable body and he roars as he fails at even getting an attack off before he's once more close to being defeated. "Please, no," Kevin mumbles, horrified as his partner shimmers before his very eyes. "GRYZMON PLEASE!"

Overwhelmed by the thoughts of his partner getting taken away from him- along with everything else, Kevin tears at his hair, screaming into the blue sky overhead. Something about his rage, his anger, fuels his digivice suddenly, a crest appearing and joining with his digivice before the digivolution sequence is activated. "Gryzmon digivolve to...!" He turns into a tall, humanoid type creature with a wolfish head and blue fur covering his paws and tail. "Mach Gaogomon!"

Mach Leomon's sneer at this is quickly wiped away when he tries to stab this new opponent, just to fail- Mach Gaogomon howls and the sonic waves issued from it are so strong that Mach Leomon is sent flying backwards, roaring in agony as his body impacts with cliffs behind him, going through them before hitting the ground in an ungraceful heap. "GAOGO TORNADO!"

All Kevin can do is watch as his partner circles Mach Leomon, raining punches down upon him rapidly. There's no time for Mach Leomon to respond or even to defend himself, he's just stuck laying there absorbing all of this until finally, Mach Gaogomon hits one too many times and his body shimmers. Shatters into little pieces, which then scatters on the wind.

Kevin exhales shakily, brushing the blood still staining his cheek away, before lunging forward and throwing his arms around Mach Gaogomon, holding him close. "You saved me," he mumbles, relieved when Mach Gaogomon hugs him back with no reluctance. "Thank you."

Mach Gaogomon smiles down at him. "Of course. We're partners, Kevin. And friends. I would never leave you at the mercy of such a heartless creature."

Kevin nods. He knew as much, still sometimes it's nice to hear it.


	210. chapter 210

Miz wakes up cold. He blinks slowly, staring up at the hazy grey sky overhead and groans, trying and failing to move. He feels frozen through. "Wha..." He struggles again, finding himself stuck to the ground. Closing his eyes, he only just wriggles his fingers, horrified to find his skin blue and ice-coated. "What the hell-"

"White Lopmon," Monodramon intones, looking as cold and ice-streaked as he feels. "A creature who has absorbed the power of a bunch of other Lopmon. We're trapped here, Mike."

He stares at his partner in dawning horror, trying anew to free himself from this new nightmare he finds himself in. He can't even remember how he ended up here- how White Lopmon got the better of them. If the other digidestined are also being held like this by the too-strong creature. "We have to get out of here!" he says, some panic in his voice as he thinks about his new baby daughter, how Maryse will start to freak out if he doesn't get home soon.

"I'd love to," Monodramon tells him. "But we're stuck... and look." He puts all of his strength into one, sharp twisting motion and is rewarded by the sound of ice cracking, one of his legs breaking free- just for a fresh beam of ice to pour over him, causing the barrier of ice holding him down to thicken even more as he's frozen back into place. "We can't do much about it."

Mike groans loudly, slamming his head against the ground. "I can't believe this..." He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to ignore the reality he finds himself trapped in, when there's a sudden rush of wings over his frigid flesh and Monodramon lets out a choked, little yell from a few feet away, Mike opening his eyes to find Birdramon hovering overhead, looking left to right with beady eyes. There's a thud when TJ Perkins drops down next to them, and Mike gasps. "How are you not a popsickle like the rest of us?!" he demands.

TJ grins. "It helps to have a partner that's just one big ball of fire, right?" He rests his hand on Mike's, feeling how thick the ice is, and cringes. "Might have to wait on freeing you guys, but Birdramon should be-" His words die away as a ice-encrusted tornado slams into Birdramon's chest, causing the bird to falter, struggling against the wind before righting himself and lunging towards where White Lopmon is holed up. Flames pour down from the digimon's wings, slamming into White Lopmon's hideaway, and he tries to escape, but more flames greet him and he shatters into data with a sharp cry.

Mike breathes a little easier, watching as Birdramon joins them and focuses his flames to warm the ice surrounding both Digimon and digidestined, Mike soon able to move his arms and legs in a somewhat normal fashion. He sits up and stares at TJ, taking his outstretched hand and pulling himself up to an awkward standing position, still a little numb and cold from being frozen to the ground for so long. "Thanks, man. I owe you one."

TJ winks at him. "No problem. Let's go free the others!"

As they walk off, Mike stares at the back of TJ's head, surprised and relieved that the egotistical, somewhat self-obsessed young man is capable of stepping up and helping when things call for it. _Shouldn't be surprised,_ he thinks. _He wouldn't have been chosen to be a digidestined otherwise, Just it's still a relief to see it for myself._


	211. chapter 211

The Smackdown team had gotten _trashed_ in the Superstar Shakeup, Carmella can't help but think as she looks at their vastly reduced numbers. Her, Shinsuke, Mike, Shane, Rusev, and... a recently recovered Big Cass is all that's left. She staunchly ignores him and adjusts her title belt, biting her lip as she thinks about what this might mean for the few of them. The less of them there are, the harder it is to put up a good fight against the really strong Digimon who torment villages, who threaten the safety of the earth. She sighs and tugs at her ball cap, missing James not for the first time since he'd been fired.

Floramon smiles up at her, trying to cheer her up, but Carmella is so distracted that she barely notices, lost in thought as the six of them wander further into the dense forest surrounding the main island of the digiworld. There are dots all over, cries for help, desperate need for assistance, and she swallows, tracing them with her finger, when she realizes something. It's gotten suspiciously quiet around her. She looks up and gapes as she realizes that the air around her is steep with something suffocating, dark purple, and... Floramon is the only thing protecting her, Carmella realizes, using her petals to whip the cloying pollen away from her.

Not enough to help the others, however, Carmella realizes as she looks around at the rest of the team, all unconscious and barely breathing under the thick cloud. "Oh my God," she breathes out, ducking next to a twitching Nakamura and resting a hand on his cool, clammy skin. "What happened?!"

"Blossomon," Floramon cries out, turning sharply. "I need to digivolve!" Carmella nods, lifting her digivice and watching as her partner wastes no time into growing into Sunflowmon, quickly ripping through the flowers and grass surrounding them before gripping onto a huge, thorny flower and hoisting it up, all but throwing it at Carmella's feet before stomping down on top of it. "You!"

Her exclamation is cut off when Blossomon whips her with vines, Sunflowmon quickly diving aside and sending back her own vines, the two of them exchanging blows with the brutal attacks as Carmella ducks back and watches, wide eyed and a little horrified as blood and nectar drip down from the plant creatures' bodies. Sunflowmon falters when Blossomon tosses bladed petals at her, slicing through her leaves and sensitive skin, leaving her tumbling back to the ground. "YAH!" she cries out, blasting Blossomon with an intense burst of sunshine, sending her tumbling away as she struggles to regain her vision. Taking advantage of her momentary weakness, Sunflowmon blasts highpowered seeds at the other digimon, Carmella cringing as the projectiles tear through the creature, leaving massive holes in her body that steadily leak data, causing her to scream in pain as she flails around, still blind.

More pollen begins to pour from Blossomon, clearly a last ditch effort, but Sunflowmon responds by slamming her thorny tail down upon the digimon's head, shredding her apart even further and speeding along her deletion. Carmella shivers as the pollen eases away and the digimon deletes, her eyes widening as she realizes that the others still aren't moving. She dashes over to kneel down between Shane and Rusev, scoping out Nakamura, Mike and Cass with troubled eyes. "Sunflowmon!" she pleads, watching as her partner floats down among those ill and their partners, tenderly resting a hand on their chest and examining them as best as she can.

"They will be fine," she says after a few moments, smiling at Carmella. "The affects of the pollen is already fading. Just give them a few more moments. No worries."

She's barely finished speaking when Carmella hears a soft groan coming from Shane, Rusev shifting next to her. Her eyes soften. "Thank you, Sunflowmon," she whispers, so relieved to have a partner by her side for troublesome moments like this once more.


	212. chapter 212

The Raw team, TJ can't help but think, is bloated. They'd already had the numbers advantage against Smackdown's team even with injuries, but once the draft had come and gone- even with losing guys like Miz- their numbers were even more ridiculous. Ten to Smackdown's five. He grimaces and leans against Birdramon's leg, watching as the cluster of Digidestined wander, looking for the reason for the call of distress coming from their digivices in the area.

He scans as far as he can see from his vantage point, frowning when Birdramon squawks and flies up to avoid a weird gust of wind, TJ looking up at his partner. "Fly down there!" he advises, relieved when his partner listens and abides, landing by a strange field of ice. TJ has just hopped down, about to explore, when a ball of ice just misses his side, Birdramon crying out for him as he dives forward and begins fighting with a warped Garurumon, fur black and grey and hinting to his truly evil nature. He succeeds at slamming Birdramon aside and dives at TJ, jaw gaping open to let his teeth show, TJ shivering as he feels the temperature drop at Garurumon's approach.

TJ feels the wind burst from his lungs, hitting the ground hard, as Garurumon tackles him down, pinning him there. TJ scrambles, scraping his boots against the dirt, but can't find any traction, can barely think as his vision spots. _Birdramon-_ he thinks desperately, hands buried in the fur surrounding Garurumon's paw and doing little more but freezing his fingers. "Please... please... _please..._ " but there's nothing to be done as Garurumon leans in, breathing heavy gasps of icy wind against his skin, slowly coating him in frost.

TJ's just closed his eyes, sure this is the end for him, when there's a sharp, bright red before his closed eyes and Garurumon screams out in pain, the weight on his chest suddenly gone as the ice begins to melt around him. He sits up in time to watch Birdramon tears his talons through the weakened digimon, scattering him into data immediately. "Are you alright?" his partner asks, frowning down at TJ.

"Fine," he says. Not really, he's still freezing and can still feel the digimon's paws so close to his throat that he could barely think much. But it's a start. He exhales and rubs at the freezing sensation over his chest. "Let's get back to the others."

Clambering back onto Birdramon's massive talon feels like home and TJ sighs in relief, pressing his face against the rough side of his leg as he flies them back the way they'd come.


	213. chapter 213

Rusev sneers at the limited numbers of their team. With Shane off injured again, it's down to him, Nakamura, Cass and Carmella. None of them really like each other, and things are tense and quiet as they walk towards the next cluster of dots. Rusev holds his breath each time they climb a hill or turn a sharp corner, certain that they will come face to face with mass destruction one of these times- but it doesn't happen.

Until half an hour later, it does. He holds his breath and stares at the charred remains of what has to be three neighboring villages, the primitive little huts within little more than charred pieces of straw floating in the wind and only scorched piles of brick marking where one began and the other ended. "Who would do this?" Carmella asks in a hushed voice, pressing her hand to her mouth as she takes it all in with a sickened expression on her face.

That question is answered quickly when another series of explosions to the west of where they're clustered sounds off, another village collapsing to rubble as those of its residents who survive scream and sob before falling soberingly silent. It's then that they see the cause flying around overhead. Pteranomon. Rusev swallows when he sees the power of his attack- bombs pouring down over each building with precision that would make more fighting pilots trained for decades envious. Despite his uncertainty, he waves his partner on and DemiDevimon evolves into Bakemon, SunFlowmon and Buraimon quickly following him.

Shinsuke seems to be ignoring them, lost in his own mind, and Rusev glowers at him, ultimately choosing to ignore him to focus on the fight overhead. Despite their partners' best attempts, Pteranomon keeps ahead of them with waves of bombs and desperate tears at them with his beak. So fighting from afar is impossible, and fighting from close up is even worse. Buraimon and SunFlowmon work together well, considering, and even leaves Pteranomon floundering when they combine an attack and knock him off center long enough for Bakemon to whisper a spell, a haze of darkness abruptly covering Pteranomon. He looks around, confused, but continues fighting when nothing serious happens.

He's just sent SunFlowmon flying after smacking her aside with a beam of energy from his mouth, when he wavers mid-air. "Wha-" His energy wans and he spirals towards the ground with little warning, failing to stop his own momentum. "I..."

Bakemon laughs at him. "Is what you get for being so egotistical. You never stopped to think _what_ I was doing. I've been sapping your energy steadily since I cast my spell over you a few minutes ago."

It's then that Pteranomon realizes. The game's up. He screams, he thrashes, he tries to send more bombs down upon them all, but there's really nothing he can do anymore. Bakemon shifts nearer and smirks down into his frantic eyes. "It'll be over soon," he promises, a shift in his cloak, and then...

A decaying hand comes out of nowhere and attacks Pteranomon, shattering what remains of his strength and causing him to delete right there, right then.

It's a success, but one with a steep price as Shinsuke stares at the destruction that was once villages full of bustling, happy Digimon. "We separate," he says. "One person, each village." His voice is steady, but his eyes explain he doesn't expect any survivors. "Let's go."

Rusev abides reluctantly, wishing not for the first time that Aiden or Lana could be here with him right now.


	214. chapter 214

Ariya Daivari looks far from thrilled with his introduction to his new reality. "I don't understand," he mumbles, staring down at the small creature who is clinging to him, all white fluff and yellow wings, massive black eyes and pensively twisted lips. "Puttimon," he tries, watching his partner's eyes gleam as happiness overwhelms the creature's anxiety.

"Putti! Putti!" the baby cheers, hopping up and down excitedly.

"O- Ok, calm down," he struggles to hold onto his partner. "Everything's fine. Nothing to see here." His life's changed for the worst in the last few weeks. First, the trip to Saudi Arabia had ended poorly for him _and_ his brother, and now this. He finds himself trudging behind a group of the Raw superstars as they wander around something called the Digiworld, looking for any creatures in need of help or villages in trouble, or... He scrubs at his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Wishes someone he trusted was here with him, like Drew Gulak or something.

The group have stopped to discuss the maps on their digivices, Ariya not understanding the device yet, when he hears something. Looking up, he thinks he sees something overhead but doesn't speak up in time to stop the next few seconds- something hard impacts with the ground, cracking it down the middle right where they're standing and knocking everyone down or out, human and digimon alike. Ariya hits hard and is winded, Puttimon going flying, and he gasps, trying to roll over and collect his partner, but before he can even try, there's a shadow over his prone body, his eyes blinking slowly as a tall, intimidating woman-like creature who is barely dressed hovers over him, a spiked weapon held over her shoulders. She barely seems bothered by its weight as she leans over him, her eyes locked on him. "Well, well, who do we have here?" she asks, kneeling down by him.

He shudders, a kind of frigidity coming from her, and he closes his eyes, trying to look away from her, her body, all of it. "Puttimon-" he tries again, just for her to touch him, grasp his face, force him to look at her.

"Do you not like what you see?" she inquires, leaning closer and brushing her body against his, the warmth of her bare skin brushing his leaving him twitching. She laughs, pressing her bizarre weapon under his chin, forcing him to look her in the eye. "It's alright, handsome. I'll take care of everything."

She's just moved forward when a weak, scratchy voice hisses, "Get away from him, you bitch." Ariya looks up and over with a struggle to find Seth Rollins fighting to get to his feet, eyes wide and digivice extended as Betamon stirs as well, energy flowing through the device to encourage his digivolution. "We've already destroyed one of your kind, it's no big thing to do it again." He coughs and wavers on his feet, causing Kinkakumon to laugh as she watches his struggles.

She brushes her lips against Ariya's and smirks down at him. "No worries, you'll see me again real soon. I promise." Her fingers fhost against his jaw and then she's gone, leaving him muddled and breathless, the warmth of her touch lingering with him even as he staggers over to Seth and the others, trying to help him revive all of them.

"What was that?" he asks, still confused, aching, and uncomfortable with the woman's attentions.

Seth exhales. "That..." he hesitates, still trying to shake Chad Gable awake. " _That_ was evil." They exchange glances. "She sounds interested in you. I would definitely keep my eyes open in the future."

"Perfect," Ariya mumbles. Just what he needs to cap off an already awful week. A thirsty woman searching for some attention or love or... whatever...


	215. chapter 215

Darkness. Pain. Suffering. She gasps for air, trying to find her way out of the torment, but nothing she does succeeds- it overwhelms her, creeps over her body, leaves her vulnerable to the torture. She feels her body, her mind, her soul changing. As evil claims her, warps everything, she can do nothing but scream into the void slowly swiping everything else about her away. "Please... no..."

Her last words, fading away into nothing as an awful growl of a scream erupts from her mouth, leaves everything within hearing range tense, watchful. When it comes, there's nothing anyone can do to save themselves but give into her murderous rampage.

-x

Cass keeps his head down. Ignores the others, just limps on like nothing else matters to him. He doesn't care to be here, but he'd had no real choice considering. He'd gotten into enough trouble lately, so he squares his shoulders and walks behind the group, not paying attention to their mumbling. Lets each stab of agony up his knee fuel him, keep him moving. Miz's sneer, Shinsuke's blase attitude, Carmella's haughty disinterest, Rusev's smug arrogance at getting into the MITB so easily, he forces it all away and continues walking behind them, determined not to think about how lonely he is. How much he misses... but no. He won't think about that anymore; it doesn't matter.

He breathes in and out, struggling to keep himself together, when Hyokomon lets out a weird, strangled noise. He blinks hard and looks down at his partner, wondering if the bird creature is choking on something, when he realizes the rookie is standing behind him, a frozen, shocked look on his face. "Hyokomon?" he asks, stepping back to grab him and hoist him up, wondering what else could go wrong this day, when...

He feels himself thrown backwards by some sort of impact, blinking in shock when he realizes that Hyokomon had digivolved into Buraimon and tackled him aside- and just in time too, because when he rolls over and looks, there's a massive, cat-type digimon standing between him and the others, massive claws slashing through the air as she roars out, almost sounding like she's in pain. All Cass can do is lay there in Buraimon's arms and watch as Meicrackmon tears and rips at the digimon and digidestined before her, claws shredding and tearing at them. He can see data and blood in the air and it spurs him into action. "Buraimon!"

Buraimon tries. He does. Parries some of the slashes with his sword but then Meicrackmon turns on him, and that's all it takes. A quick slash with her claws and he's down, screaming out in pain as she tears and rips at his prone body.

"BURAIMON!" Cass cries out, realizing that his partner- the only loyal companion he's had since ...- is close to dying. His yell sends Meicrackmon turning towards him, her claws reaching towards him when...

Nakamura stirs, holds his digivice out and yells something out in Japanese, a wide beam of power bursting from it and spiraling around Meicrackmon before sending her running to escape its destructive power.

Once she's gone, Cass collapses back against the grass before forcing himself upright to check on Buraimon, who has dedigivolved, and the others. He clings to Pururumon in shock as he takes in the carnage. Everyone is scratched up and bloodied and... data flows freely through the late afternoon sky, all of their partners deleted where they'd stood when Meicrackmon attacked. "Holy shit."


	216. chapter 216

Luke looks concerned. It's the first thing Drake Maverick notices the next time he sees him. None of the others seem to care, but as they group together to discuss what to do, he approaches the man. "Mr. Luke? Sir?" he asks, arms crossed behind his back and rocking forward on his toes, smiling weakly when their eyes lock. "I'm sorry to disturb you but I see you look... worried, is there anything I can help you with?"

"The Smackdown team lost quite a few names in the Superstar Shakeup," he explains to Drake, eyes shifting around all of the former Smackdown roster members- Kevin, Chad, Dolph, Zack. "And now quite a few of the partners have been deleted by an evil Digimon. I'm still weighing how to fix it."

Drake nods, easing back onto his heels. "I see. And the amount of injured right now isn't helping matters much." Luke nods and Drake hums. "Are there... in a way, superstars in reserve for the teams?"

"There are a few I have yet to bring to the Digiworld, yes," Luke admits. He smiles. "There are so many people in the world with the opportunity to be part of all of this, but I try not to select too many of them at once. It is dangerous, and it is a weight on me just to encourage those that I have already. So many get injured and lose friends..." He sighs. "But it is a necessary evil to keep everything balanced between our world and the real world."

Drake nods, unfortunately used to necessary evils in both the world of wrestling and this one. "If you believe I can ever do anything to assist, please let me know."

"Thank you," Luke says as he smiles halfheartedly and returns to the other superstars milling around, pondering what to do next.

-x

Footmon chokes on his own agony. Kicks balls of light into the villages surrounding him, destroying homes, deleting digimon, wrecking everything in sight until he can barely stand anymore. He has no control over himself, he has nothing. His mind is compromised, his body is fading away, there's nothing he can do any longer. "Please," he chokes out. "Please-"

Before he can say or do anything else, he's flanked by two female digimon. "Good job," Meicrackmon tells him, ghosting a finger down his face while Kinkakumon presses a taunting kiss down his jaw, her heat claiming him further. "I knew you had it in you."

But he doesn't. Not really. It's why he's screaming desperately within the darkness swirling in his own mind, despite no sounds pouring from his lips. Instead, he feels himself nod. Lips twitching in dark, evil pride as he turns and follows the women away from all of the flowing data and destruction behind them.


	217. chapter 217

Luke doesn't want to do it. But, he thinks, it's necessary. Evens out the numbers, makes it easier for the teams to have each other's backs if something should go seriously wrong. So, new digivices, new tags, new crests. He closes his eyes and focuses on his task, a list of names before him. Swallowing hard, he ghosts a finger down where each name is written. "I'm sorry," he murmurs. "So many of you I would prefer to keep safe from this fate, but... it must be done... We need help badly... Evil is growing..."

He can sense it, the creatures getting defiled by the darkness growing stronger by the day. And there are other problems- the ocean where the deleted data goes, how it is overtaking everything, infecting every body of water, possibly aiding in the overwhelming power of the darkness. Dolph Ziggler had had the right inclination to try to clear the river of it all and his failure to do so had led to his own bitter changes, ones that Luke's been keeping an eye on.

His eyes begin to glow bright white, power trickling down onto the digimetal piecing everything together, the pure power of digicore fueling everything, allowing for more digidestined to be chosen, more crests to be made. Luke shudders as he feels the power flowing around him, over him, out of his fingertips, coating the devices. "Please keep them safe," he whispers as he looks down at the three new sets of items to aid the digidestined. "Please... keep us all safe..."

-x

Elsewhere, trees topple, screams are heard, numerous feet hitting the ground sounds all around, before... falling suspiciously quiet. Prince Mamemon laughs, lifting his gloved hands up and laughing as toxic, purple raindrops fall from the clear sky overheard, poisoning all that it touches. As the world around him rots and dies, he throws his head back and laughs. "Bring me the Digidestined," he says. "Let me ruin them as easily as I do these useless villages." He raises a hand and more rain pours out over the ground until it nearly floods, his laughter sweeping over the land and somehow making the destruction even worse.

"Very soon," MeiCrackmon says, looking around with some smug pleasure as she looks at all of the dead creatures and ruined homes, vegetation, everything. "You are a very welcome addition to the others I have my... _group..._ "

Prince Mamemon only just stops short of his cape getting drenched in the dark water overwhelmed with evil. "I will hold you to that," he says, before finding the biggest peak with the best view and climbs it to see all of the destruction he has caused. A simple, ordinarily laugh turns twisted and eager the longer he stands there, taking in full villages wiped out at his hand. "Congratulations, Prince Mamemon," the voices in his head repeat. "You will make a fun addition to the group."

He can't wait to have more targetts to fight.


	218. chapter 218

Nakamura looks bored. Unimpressed. "More Digidestined," he intones slowly. "More Digimon. More battles. Meh. More everything." Waving his hands in disgust at it all, he turns and heads back towards Luke's compound. "Why do you do this to me again?"

Luke stares up at him, tired but forthright in his decision. "Smackdown has lost a good amount of digidestined due to injury, and this draft thing. I can't in good conscience let you go out and fight with limited numbers like this."

Shinsuke sniffs disinterestedly. "We were doing just fine either way. They have me, what else could be required?"

"And if something happened to you?" Luke asks. "No, no. I cannot allow the entire fate of the team to rest on you solely. I understand you are a legacy member of the Digidestined, but it's just not wise." He watches with a grimace as Shinsuke looks down at him and then turns on his heel, meandering over to his patiently waiting partner with the loopy kind of walk that he makes on the way to the ring weekly. For a wild, impossible moment, Luke wishes he could have the _old_ Shinsuke back, the dilligent, smart, careful man who hadn't lost his mind when he failed to gain the biggest prize at Wrestlemania.

-x

"Culumon," a dark, dangerous voice echoes through the cavernous area. The small digimon whimpers, but then awakens. "It is time. Follow me."

The creature swallows another whimper, barely tall enough to see over the massive feet of the mega level she's following as she scampers down one turn to the next. There are a bunch of digieggs here and she swallows, resting a small paw on one. "This?"

"Yes, that will do," he says, eyes reflecting the glow of power coming from the triangle on Culumon's forehead as it bursts forth and engulfs the digieggs, making them crack and shine, releasing the creature inside as it grows and grows, digivolves from birth to Rapidmon Armor. Still sobbing with pain from the burst of power, Culumon stumbles back as her leader eases closer to the newly hatched creature and pours drops of liquid from the evil waters into her mouth. As Rapidmon Armor's skin turns into a purple shade and her eyes flash with darkness, he smirks. "That's it. Come with me."

All Culumon can do is watch as another digimon is led away to be completely transformed.


	219. chapter 219

"Volcamon? That's the best you can do?" Culumon's ears droop as she's mocked. "Whatever, I'll make do, but allow for more energy for the next digivolution. Understand me?"

Culumon nods off of a whimper, looking away as the digimon leave her behind. She's so tired and worn down from aiding them in having stronger, better warriors for their army against the digidestined. "I'm sorry," she mumbles to thin air, collapsing in a small heap on the floor where she'd been standing when left behind.

-x

It's quick, cool, calculating. Detruction, flames and lava raining down and destroying everything it touches, risking the lives of those near enough to feel the heat and power behind the impact. He laughs, and laughs, and laughs some more, enjoying the power flowing through his veins. "You all are dead," he promises, stretches his hands out and raining more rocks and fire down from his back. Whenever he sees movement, he lunges forward and tackles it, his body slamming through it and shattering it into millions of pieces, his excitement sending more rocks and fire raining over everything nearby.

"Next up, the digidestined," he says, throwing his head back and laughing. "They will never know what's coming for them. They are all DEAD!" His words echo through the immediate area, sending more creatures scattering, running for their lives, until he takes off running and barrels through all of them, watching their data shift and dance in the wind. He smirks and raises his arms, raining more death and destruction down upon all in the vicinity. "You will never, ever forget this moment," he yells out. "If you are lucky enough to survive me!"

He cackles with laughter and then turns his head as a censor goes off. "They're coming," the famiiar voice of his creator informing him. "We must leave now, so stop wasting time and finish up."

Volcamon clearly does not like it, but by the time the other digidestined arrive, there's nothing left. Everything is in ruins, completely destroyed. "Dammit!" Seth exclaims, but there's nothing to be done right now so they move on to the next area, unaware htat they're being watched as they slowly pick their way back


	220. chapter 220

It hurts. He doesn't think he'll last much longer at this rate. Culumon's body is weak, each burst of energy spent to help the digivolution process along leaving him closer to death. He can feel it, even with as much energy as he has stored within, to use as a conduit, he has limitations as well. He struggles to breathe, feeling the pain ebbing and flowing within him. Not for the first time, he regrets this life- not that he had much of a choice, considering how weak he is. Emotionally and physically.

As soon as Chicomon has evolved as high as he can go, he's gone and Culumon wavers in place for a few moments before collapsing face first into the ground, barely twitching as his body struggles to survive on for even one moment longer.

-x

Cass is gone. James Ellsworth is back. Carmella smiles a little as Luke fights to make sense of this abrupt change in his Smackdown Digidestined team. She squeezes James' hand, teeth flashing when he winks at her, as Choromon chatters at his feet, a little cowed by both the world they find themselves back in, and how Floramon towers over him now. But Floramon is gentle, patient, even picks Choromon up and helps him when they make their way on to the next spot in the digiworld in need of their focus.

Carmella breathes softly and thinks about everything that's going on, this new mounting danger, and glances back over at James, who is keeping a close eye out for danger just in case he should need to protect her. She exhales softly, relieved to have him back in her life. The last few months without his calm, gentle spirit had been really difficult, in more ways than she'd realized.

She's about to say so when there's a massive crash in front of them and _everyone,_ including Shinsuke, tense up. It's Imperialdramon Paladin mode, and he looks close to murder, brandishing a large sword at them all. "You," he says, pointing the sword at them all. "You will all die. Here. Now." He laughs before swooping forward, sending his sword in a circle, slashing at all of them. James moves, quickly, tackling Carmella down and covering her body with his, tense and waiting. "Oh," Imperialdramon Paladin Mode says, voice dull and rough with the darkness his body is comprised of. "We have a hero in our midst." He throws his head back in a short, smug laugh. "I hate heroes."

The tip of his sword eases under James' chin and lifts his head up, staring into his scared blue eyes. Carmella is trembling under him and the others are all tense, watchful. James swallows hard, closing his eyes but careful not to move off of her as he steels himself for sharp pain.

"Still willing to risk it all, I see," Imperialdramon says, releasing him with a sarcastic chuckle. "It will be especially fun to break you. I look forward to the day." Then as quickly as it'd appeared, his sword is gone from James' throat and he sobs out in relief, feeling Carmella squirming and writhing under him, just to dive into his arms as soon as he moves enough for her to do anything.

"I was so scared-" she wails into his neck.

"I know," he soothes her, running his fingers through her long hair. "You're gonna be fine. Shhhhh..."

"So scared he was going to hurt you," she finishes, barely focused on what he's saying. She hugs him only tighter and he exhales hard, face flushing softly.

"I'm fine," he says, pulling away gently to look her in the eye. "He didn't do anything to me. " Physical anyway, and he shivers a little when he feels Carmella's fingers graze over his jaw. He grips her hands and brings them up to his face, where he presses soft kisses to each hand. "We're gonna be just fine," he promises her.

"I hope so," she mumbles, burying her face in his chest. anew, happy to have him close nough to just hold her.


	221. chapter 221

"You're back!" is the greeting Alicia Fox is given by one broski, Zack Ryder grinning over at her as she joins them around the digiport, digivice at the ready.

"Yeah, I am," she says, smirking over at him and winking as she flips her hair over her shoulder. "So what are we doing standing around? Waiting for the Digiworld to melt in on itself? Let's go!"

So they go and it's even worse than she remembers- destruction and evil, and so much sadness and death around them. Their current attempt at rescue is a village that's burning into nothingness around them, Darcmon and Kiwimon working together to try to save as many Digimon as they can while Wizardmon, Seadramon and Moosemon work at putting the fire out, but it's an uphill battle, especially with Alicia all but frozen and needing Zack to guide her as she's overwhelmed by all of the stimuli around them. "It's ok," he soothes her when she looks over at him, wide eyed and terrified.

The latest village is almost saved- at least _some_ of the residents surviving the intense flames licking at their homes- when it all starts up again. Fresh flames lick through the already charred walkpaths, taking over whateer hasn't been lost already, deleting more poor Digimon still struggling to salvage _something_ from their old lives. As the flames get closer, Alicia gasps and yells out, "KIWIMON!"

_Everything_ pauses at the sound of her voice and Kiwimon, empowered by her exclamation, glows bright, digivolving further. Once the digivolution process is completed, Lotusmon hovers before them, her eyes closed before she flicks her wings open and stares out at something the others can't quite see. "Marsmon," she says, before flashing forward and aimng her staffs at the creature encircled by flames. "SEVEN'S FANTASIA!"

The aura slams towards him, but he doesn't even flinch. Merely laughs and absorbs it, his flames shooting up even brighter along his arms as he takes in the power and is fueled by it instead of injured. Lotusmon's jaw drops, the fight leaving her as quickly as it'd arrived. He lunges forward and lands by her with one huge leap, flames dancing over her skin as he cups her jaw, staring into her frozen, fearful eyes. "I'm gonna have fun playing with you, digidestined," he declares with a maddening kind of laugh before leaping away, disappearing into the distance with what would seem like only a couple of ordinary leaps at first, physics bending to his will and allowing him to go further, faster.

"Oh my God," Alicia groans, sinking down towards the ground, unaware that her partner is doing much the same a few feet away. Zack kneels down and attempts to comfort Alicia while Darcmon does much the same for Lotusmon, although neither of them know what to do to fix this situation, make any of this better for anyone. Along with the fact that it looks like this coalition of digimon working against them, out for blood, just gained another number on this day...


	222. chapter 222

Shinsuke doesn't seem thrilled with the new digidestined. He casts a critical eye over them all before rolling his eyes at Luke, as if to say _really?_ Luke ignores him, however, resuming explaining critical business to the people still new to the digiworld and uncertain what their place in it is. Once Luke seems to be winding down, the impatient Japanese man grips his digivice and begins to walk away with as much dignity as his injured leg can allow him. "Come," he snaps, putting all of his determination and power into that one word.

The group scrambles, scatters, then regroups behind him, following him to begin the day's excursion. He casts an impatient look over his shoulder before catching James Ellsworth's eye, his friend smiling reassuringly at him. This moment makes him exhale sharply, his shoulders relaxing just a bit as some tension leaves him. At least there is someone here he can trust, even with Carmella rambling on by his side, twirling her hair and being generally obnoxious. None of their digimon are necessarily strong, still growing and regaining strength after being deleted so abruptly not that long ago. Only the new Digidestined and James' partners were spared from this, and none of them are necessarily strong either, so he's very tense, on high alert.

Which is just as well because it gives him enough time to throw an arm up, slow the others down as his watchful gaze catches sight of something. "What is it?" Miz hisses at him, just to receive a glare in response. He can see the little digimon- Calumon- standing in the middle of the field before them, and everything is screaming at him that it's a trap. That they're in big danger, but it's a possibility. A chance... and he has to take it. "Coronamon," he hisses, relieved when his partner digivolves quietly. Firamon isn't used often, his partner prefering the pure strength of Apollomon, but for this... Firamon's abilities should work just fine.

"Fira bomb," he breathes out, bombs blasting from his forehead and burrowing through the air towards Calumon. They watch, tense and eager with anticipation... when all of the bombs blow up mere feet from Calumon, who squeaks and scrambles away in fear. When the little creature reappears, Shinsuke curses, aware that they're made.

The Bitmon that appears looks harmless enough, but there's a wildness to its eyes that Shinsuke does not like to see in the slightest. The laughter that follows only adds to his frustration, and then... and then, Calumon takes action, bright, blinding light bursting from its forehead and coating the digimon in pure power, forcing digivolution. Whereas Bitmon was calm and _almost_ cute looking, Kumbhiramon is pure viciousness. Glares at all of them, even the badly weakened Calumon. Before Shinsuke can react, there are multiple copies of the thin legged digimon surrounding them, controling a large pestle type weapon with its mind to batter them while they're trapped between its copies.

As the Digidestined and their partners lay there, groaning and in pure agony, Kumbhiramon laughs over their heads. Kicks at Calumon and barks at her to move, which she does despite the pain she's clearly in. Shinsuke watches through bruised, swelling eyes, as the evil digimon walk further away, just to stop. They're quickly joined by the others- a monstrous line of vicious creatures, Kinkakumon, Meicrackmon, Footmon, Prince Mamemon, Volcamon, Imperialdramon Paladin Mode, Marsmon with Kumbhiramon and Calumon finishing up the line. _Nine of them,_ he thinks. _Nine of us, and nine of the Raw Digidestined._ He closes his eyes, body finally giving into the lurking sway of unconsciousness.

For the first time since he'd first touched Coronamon all of those years ago, he doubts his own ability to protect the digiworld.


	223. chapter 223

Extreme Rules had been brutal. But with the two brands together, it makes it somewhat easier for the Digidestined to group together, move as one. Counting those not at the show, and those injured, there are nine of them preparing to go to the Digiworld to sort things out. Seth and Dolph on Raw's side- Kevin was at the arena, but he was too injured after flying off of the steel cage into the commentary table to be of any assistance- and Nakamura, Carmella, Rusev, James, Aiden, AJ and Xavier from the Smackdown side.

Nine people. Seth glances over at Shinsuke, purposely ignoring Ziggler as he tries to focus on what's ahead. "You said there are nine."

"Yes," Nakamura says. "Eight powerful Digimon and one that seems to make the others able to digivolve faster. Culumon." They exchange glances. It hadn't been that long ago that the Smackdown digimon had been attacked and left weakened to the point of deletion. They'd regained their strength slowly but haven't had any serious fights in awhile to really see if they can hold their own against stronger digimon like what they'll likely face at any time.

"Think we have any kind of a chance here?" Seth wonders and Shinsuke shrugs, somewhere between nonchalant and disinterested. Seth exhales, not liking how this night is going in the slightest. "Well, come on then," he says, holding his digivice out. The others follow suit and they all find themselves in the Digiworld, Seth quickly looking around. Things are quiet, almost too quiet, and he exhales, swiping a thumb over his digivice. The map shows nothing and he shakes his head, not liking any of this. They're just about to walk over to Luke's compound and figure things out when the map lights up.

Seth freezes, glances over at Nakamura once more. "Here we go," the Japanese man mumbles, urging Coronamon onwards in the direction the map is guiding them. Nothing feels right about this, but they have a responsibility as Digidestined, so...

Seth remains towards the back, both to avoid Ziggler and to keep an eye on things from behind while Shinsuke focuses towards the front. He watches Carmella and James walk side by side, James limping a little after his botched jump from the shark cage earlier. When she looks over, Seth does see some concern on her face, but she doesn't say anything and neither does he. Rusev and Aiden look about as happy about things, and Seth exhales. Shinsuke, AJ and Ziggler are the only ones who seem perfectly happy in the group, and that just doesn't seem fair either way you look at it.

Xavier falls back and half-heartedly smiles at him, the two of them walking in comfortable silence for awhile until he finally speaks. "Rough night, huh?"

"Yeah," Seth sighs. "I was just thinking about that." They exchange glances and Xavier sighs, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Hopefully it's not a sign of things to come tonight."

Xavier claps him on the back. "Let's not think like that. Power of positivity and all, right?"

Seth smirks a little. "Whatever you say, man." They continue walking until Shinsuke says something lowly, everyone coming to a slow stop. Seth looks at his digivice to find that they've reached the red dot dictating where they're supposed to go.

"Help me," they hear from a few feet away and Seth grimaces, liking this less and less. "Please help me!" The voice is weak, clearly female, and they venture closer, spotting a struggling creature on the ground.

The closer they get, the more obvious it becomes just how weak she is. Data is already pouring from her wings and body, and Seth doubts they can really do anything for her, but he kneels down anyway, trying to figure out who attacked her- when fire rains down upon her, just missing him, and deletes her immediately, leaving them all shocked and frozen as shadows surround them. "They're here," Shinsuke says, his voice quiet and dark.

Seth stands up straight and looks around at the nine digimon surrounding them. "Shit," he exhales.


	224. chapter 224

It happens before they get their heads around what they're seeing. Before their partners can digivolve, before they can figure out what to attack with. Just a cascade of power that washes over them and leaves them flattened on the ground, Seth and Shinsuke both struggling just to regain their footing. "Betamon!" Seth cries out, relieved when his partner responds, warp digivolving to MegaSeadramon.

Likewise, Shinsuke holds his digivice out and looks pointedly at Coronamon who digivolves directly into Apollomon, standing side by side with MegaSeadramon. Kinkakumon laughs when she sees them, seeming undisturbed with their power levels as they approach the line of evil digimon. "You truly think you have a choice against us," she belittles them, aiming her spiked club at them. "This should be disappointingly easy."

Seth looks over quickly, sees that most of the others have moved or sat up, all looking dazed and not entirely with it. He breathes in and out before directing MegaSeadramon. "Go!"

He nods and whips forward, lightning blasting from his horn, Kinkakumon reflecting it easily with her club before lunging forward and batting at him with it. MegaSeadramon moves away just in time and Apollomon blasts fire at her, just for the other Digimon to lunge forward, their attacks once more going every which way. James dives forward and covers Carmella's body with his own when she screams, flame and electricity mixing in a really frightening way right in front of her face. "CHOROMON!" he calls out, his partner hopping forward and glowing in a bright light as James' digivice activates.

Chattering, the baby digimon grows rapidly, warp digivolving through his baby forms up through Rookie straight to champion level. "YAH! Goatmon!" he declares, stomping on the ground and shooting out supersonic waves at Kinkakumon, who hisses and drops to one knee, MegaSeadramon shooting electricity at her once more. Apollomon holds the others at bay with fresh flames, no one watching too closely as Shinsuke slips away.

Seth rushes over to the remaining digidestined. "Anyone whose digimon can help, do so now!" he demands, relieved when Rusev and Dolph get up, their partners joining in after digivolving. Bakemon and Beelzebumon split up to support MegaSeadramon and Apollomon, Beelzebumon sending waves of darkness towards Kinkakumon while Bakemon enforces Apollomon's fire attack with spells that threaten to hypnotize the creatures attempting to defend themselves.

There's a harsh laugh that distracts everyone, Seth looking up to find Shinsuke lurking behind the cowed line of evil Digimon, his slender fingers digging into a small Digimon's forehead where a green triangle resides. "Call off your attacks or the Digi-Entelechy will die," he informs them coldly, Calumon's cries and pleas falling on deaf ears as Shinsuke merely applies more pressure to his source of energy.

"Kinkakumon!" the little creature wails, paws flailing as the battle field freezes, all eyes on Shinsuke and Calumon.

To be continued...


	225. chapter 225

 

 

The line of evil digimon seem unconcerned as Calumon cries and struggles for freedom, tears beading down his large eyes. "Please," he begs, screams as Shinsuke, impatient, shakes him. "Let me go!"

"He has served his purpose," Kinkakumon says coolly. "If you wish to destroy him, I won't stop you."

It's a level of cruel callousness that Seth recognizes from his time in the Authority and it disgusts him. "How dare you!" he yells over at her. "He's a part of your team!"

"He's a source of energy," she corrects him, flicking some dirt from her skin. "We are all as strong as we need to be, so he can be done away with at your leisure."

Despite the coldness in Shinsuke's own eyes, his lips seem to be twisted at this and Seth takes a couple of steps towards him, relieved when he tosses Calumon over, Seth easily snagging the little guy out of the air and hugging him close. "You're safe," he tells the whimpering thing, marveling at how tiny he is. "It's ok, we'll take care of you."

"Disgusting, soft humans," Kinkakumon says with a disinterested flick of her hair. "Let me show you how you should handle weak, pathetic creatures like that one." She eyes the Digidestined keenly, smirking as she spots James Ellsworth standing next to Carmella, holding onto Choromon while SunFlowmon protects them both. She lunges forward and Carmella squeeches, falling back as James instinctively pushes her to safety, struggling as Kinkakumon digs her nails into his baggy sweatshirt. "You all deserve to die!"

Her skin is starting to crackle with electricity, James squeezing his eyes closed as he whimpers and struggles to free himself. "Please," he says, shaking his head as he can feel the friction of the electricity approaching his body. "Don't do this!"

And then a slap like a gunshot echoes through the clearing and Kinkakumon freezes in surprise as she realizes that Carmella's slipped between them, slapping her soundly across the face in defense of James. "Don't even look at him," she says threateningly and Kinkakumon blinks, reaching up to press her fingers where Carmella had made impact.

Not that it hurt. Kinkakumon glares down at her and shakes her head. "I'd almost respect your stupid bravery but it's a waste of time because now I'm going to kill you first, instead of your little boyfriend." She moves so quickly that Carmella barely has time to react as she throws James aside and grabs Carmella, lifting her spiked club up. "I was going to show him some sort of mercy," she says. "Electrocute him until his heart stopped, probably... but you..." She laughs. "You dared to lay a hand on me, so now... I have to make it a point that I show no grace to those who disrespect me." The foremost spike has just scraped against Carmella's throat, a scream frozen on her lips, when a flash of grey streaks forward, a harsh sound like a bell ringing sending everyone in the area to their knees, Kinkakumon gaping as Goatmon slams into her, thick horns digging into the vulnerable flesh of her abdomen. "HOW!?"

James struggles to sit up, dragging Carmella to his side, where he stubbornly stands before her. "You won't hurt her while I'm around," he forces out, clearly still in pain from both hanging from the cage, Asuka's attack, _and_ getting thrown around just moments earlier. "Because she's... she's my homegirl, and I'll never stop doing my best to defend her." Trembling, Carmella presses her face into his shoulder and he pats her back as she drenches his shirt with tears. "You've made her cry," he adds, his voice growing even angrily as Goatmon rebounds and buries his horns into Kinkakumon yet again. "Make them all pay, Goatmon!" he yells out, a strange energy filling the air as James and Goatmon both start to glow brightly, Carmella gasping as a tag and crest appear, spiraling around them before James claims it, staring down at it. "Passion," he breathes out, squeezing Carmella a little tighter before turning to his partner. "NOW!"

Goatmon digivolving into a tall, magestic flying beast with piercing eyes and a wide wingspan, talons that look like they could tear through someone as easy as touching them, is so _James_ that no one can make sense of it. "Garudamon!" the creature introduces himself before rushing towards Kinkakumon. "You will PAY!"

To her credit, Kinkakumon tries to fight back, spinning forward and sending her club towards Garudamon, but it's too little too late. Flame eats up it, tears at her hands, and she screams as her weapon melts into her flesh, leaving her frozen and twitching in agonizing pain. "NO!"

"CRIMSON... CLAW!" Garudamon roars, tearing towards her and sending his aflame talons straight through where Goatmon's horns had already weakened. Data scatters and fills the air around them as everyone freezes, watching Kinkakumon delete with only a few, choked gasps as she struggles to wrap her fingers around the base of her mostly useless club once more.

"Please no," she forces out, but is too far gone to manage anything more as her body shatters into little pieces, Garudamon turning and looking back as James cups Carmella's face, staring into her eyes for a few moments... before she leans forward and kisses him, gratitude and fear and a number of other emotions welling up within her.

Unfortunately there are still seven digimon remaining now, so none of them let their guard down as they turn to face the daunting line of creatures eager to get revenge for Kinkakumon. "Bring it," Seth grumbles, hugging Calumon close to his chest as they wait to see who will make the next move.


	226. chapter 226

 

Volcamon steps forward then. Stares Garudamon down, clearly unimpressed with him. "Kinkakumon was too easily led by her own vices," he says coolly. "You will find I have no such weakness." He laughs and lunges forward, picking up speed as he approaches, Garudamon's attempt at flying away meaningless as he leaps and tackles him hard in the chest, the creature squawking loudly before hitting the ground and dedigivolving back to Choromon. James gasps in distress, still holding onto Carmella, but he lets her go and runs for his partner, just to stop short when Volcamon turns to stare at him. "You," he says lowly, stomping pointedly towards James. The ground rattles with every step he takes. "You will be fun to kill right here. I've never seen a human's blood before." He touches James, large dark fingers clasping him around the middle and hoisting him up until they're eye to eye. "I'm curious what it looks like... how it tastes..."

"Please..." James mumbles, and then everything slows. Volcamon staggers as Apollomon races up, barely a blur of heat before them, and punches him hard, causing him to drop James and stumble backwards. James immediately crawls forward to rejoin Carmella and she holds onto him, both of them shaking and hating all of this.

Apollomon laughs, Shinsuke echoing him a few feet away, and the two creatures meet in the middle, exchanging a purely physical fight, punches and kicks and struggles for dominance looking so much like the beginning stage of a wrestling match that everyone is holding their breath, watching on in awe. Apollomon tries to attack just for Volcamon to startle him to his knees with overwhelming soundwaves from the microphone he's gripping like a lifeline, the digidestined gritting their teeth against the obnoxious noise. It all stops, however, when Apollomon begins shooting off massive red arrows from his wrists, a fair few impacting wiht Volcamon and digging into his heated side.

He screams and tries to tear the shards of arrows out of his skin, but it's no use. He's lost in the agony of it all, Apollomon approaching quickly- just to get hit across the face with his microphone, fresh data pouring from wounds along his jaw and forehead. Ultimately, it only serves to piss him off, however, and he yells out before forcing all of his energy to collect in his back. Heated solar energy forms in the sphere on his back and all Volcamon can do is watch in horrified awe as it grows in size, soon dwarfing everything around both of them in its heat and light. "SUNBALL BLAST!" he screams, the massive attack blasting through thin air, causing it to ripple until it drills through Volcamon, the heat and pure energy behind it deleting him immediately.

Nakamura looks over at James and Carmella as soon as every particle of his data has faded away and nods at them, winking at his surfing pal. "And then there were six," he says carefully, English still a chore for him sometimes.

The remaining digimon do not look thrilled at these sudden losses in their ranks.

Then Imperialdramon Paladin Mode steps forward.


	227. chapter 227

 

It's not good. Imperialdramon Paladin Mode is tall, and intense, and everyone begins to doubt if they could truly get any kind of offense against him. Apollomon stands before him, Beelzebumon, so many powerful Digimon but none of them look too encouraged as he laughs at them. Seth fumbles with his digivice, wishing that MegaSeadramon could make it to mega. He's always felt like a liability for that- he's the leader of the Raw team, but it's yet another thing Dolph has beaten him to. His partner is securely able to make it to mega whenever he wants, while Seth and Betamon are trapped at this obviously weaker level.

Seth groans softly and watches as Apollomon gets swatted aside like he's nothing, Imperialdramon thrusting his sword right towards him. Shinsuke looks unimpressed, barking orders at his partner in Japanese, but there's very little to be done for it as Imperialdramon continues sending him on the defensive with wild swings of his sword. Dolph _does_ try to help, to his credit, but Imperialdramon treats him the exact same way. He digs his fingers into his eyes, imagining Dean returning to find Seth still pathetic, still weak, still-

"I am not needy," he mumbles. "I am not weak. I WILL NOT BE PATHETIC!" MegaSeadramon turns to look at him and Seth holds his digivice up. "I believe in you, MegaSeadramon! We can do this!" Another swing of Imperialdramon's sword and he's close to beheading MegaSeadramon thanks to the distraction caused by Seth, when there's a blast of energy and Imperialdramon yells out as he's knocked back from the wave of power suddenly issuing from Seth's Digivice, blanketing MegaSeadramon.

Metal coats his body as he grows in size. "MegaSeadramon digivolve to... MetalSeadramon!" he calls out, quickly wrapping around Imperialdramon and tightening around him so he can barely move. As he clings, he writhes around until his snout is in position and bites, hard, into Imperialdramon's side. He screams out in pain and sends his sword scraping against MetalSeadramon's armored side, the pain only growing when MetalSeadramon adjusts and places his nose against Imperialdramon's head, blasting him with bright, overwhelming energy.

"No!" he yells. "I will not be defeated like this, I will-" He struggles harder, his sword scraping into MetalSeadramon's flesh between the armor plates, MetalSeadramon barely registering the agony as Imperialdramon starts to fracture, overwhelmed by the new energy coming from the freshly digivolved creature.

"Your ego got the best of you," MetalSeadramon tells him coolly. "I will take great pleasure in defeating you." This time, the energy blasting from his snout is overwhelming, engulfing Imperialdramon fully and delating him upon impact.

As soon as the last of the data drifts away, Seth walks up to his partner and brushing his fingers over his cool flesh, feeling the armor against the soft flesh of his fingers. "'I'm so proud of you," he says. "It's been a long time coming."

MetalSeadramon nods, nuzzling against Seth. "I agree," he says. "As much as I'd like to celebrate this further, we have a fight ahead."

Seth nods, hesitantly pulling away. There are still five evil digimon to contend with, but things are slowly inching in thier favor. He hopes it lasts.


	228. chapter 228

****

They're all a little tired. A little eager for this to be over. But now the Digidestined are outnumbering the evil Digimon, and they're relaxing a little more into it, even though only a few of them have Mega leveled partners. "So," Seth says, catching Shinsuke's eye. "This is going a little better? Maybe?" His fellow team leader doesn't look very assured, however, and Seth quickly turns his focus back onto the line of Digimon staring them down. "Well, I think it is," he mumbles to himself.

Marsmon steps forward, staring them down as flames around him grow in intensity. "Who shall I kill first?"

They all freeze when Rusev steps forward, Bakemon looking unaffected from how vast the power gap between them is. "Rusev-" Seth starts to say but he ignores him, eyes fixed on his opponent.

"Go, Bakemon," he says coolly, and Marsmon glares even harder as he comes face to face with the much weaker Digimon.

"You insult me with this nonsense? I will make you pay for all of it, and then make you watch as I kill the rest of your little clan."

Rusev laughs at him, everyone blinking in confusion as he holds his hand out, a tag glinting from between his fingers. Aiden gasps and Rusev stands a little taller, Bakemon glowing as the power suffuses through him. "Bakemon digivolve to...!" Monzaemon is a large teddy bear, his eyes a red slit of foreboding, and Marsmon focuses his flames in response to this sudden power gain, immediately lunging forward and punching at him, flames pouring from his fists with each strike.

Rusev nor Monzaemon seem too bothered by it, however, and Monzaemon punches him back, sending him staggering back. Their attacks continue until flames and laser beams crash together, exploding with enough force to knock everyone on both sides over. Marsmon and Monzaemon are both down, but Monzaemon beats Marsmon up to his feet, staggering slightly as Marsmon makes it to a knee, staring up at him. Monzaemon grips his face and stares at him, stretching his fingers out and breathing in heavily before shooting hearts off at him.

Marsmon shudders with each strike of the hearts impacting against his body and head. "No- No!" Each hurt, but worse than that, he can feel something changing at the molecular level. "What are you doing to me?" Monzaemon just holds on patiently, repeatedly sending more hearts at him. "Stop- please-" Then he looks up at Monzaemon, an almost affectionate look in his eyes as he smiles. "I don't want to fight anymore," he admits, and Monzaemon helps him stand, hugging him warmly as bright lights surround them, Marsmon's base nature fading away from him.

He's shining with goodness now, his flames barely licking at his wrists, and he stares at Monzaemon. "My friend... thank you. I will go convince the others we all do not have to fight." He turns back to the other four, but he's barely opened his mouth when Kumbhiramon stabs him through with his pestle, hesitanting long enough to inflict as much damage as possible before pulling it out and then thrusting it back through his chest, data pouring from both wounds so hurriedly that he deletes without another word spoken. "He was weak," Kumbhiramon says coldly, staring back at the Digidestined. "You will not alter us. If you try, we will put our own out of their miseries. Because that is the proper thing to do."

Rusev clenches his fist in anger, Monzaemon seething in hurt and anger as well. He'd put this all into motion, and now... now... He closes his eyes. "We will end them right here, right now," Rusev promises, his finger moving from one digimon to the next. Now there are only four.. "We are already so close. Which of you cowards are we destroying next?"


	229. chapter 229

There are four remaining. It's almost a comfort, makes the Digidestined think they might actually succeed at this. Meanwhile, Calumon continues to languish in Seth's hands as the others try to figure out how much to handle the rest of the evil digimon before them. Before they can decide, Prime Mamemon steps forward. His smile never fades, making him look quite demented. After the other digimon, this one almost seems like a joke. James can only gape as Carmella saunters forward, her trash talk barely registering with James as he tries to stop her and fails.  
  
"So you're a prince, huh?" she asks, snapping her gum. "Well, I'm the princess o' Staten Island, and I can tell ya, you're nothin' like me."   
  
"Carmella!" James hisses at her but she flaps a hand at him impatiently.  
  
"I got this, Jimmy, just keep standing there lookin' pretty." Everyone double-takes at this but Carmella ignores all of them, her hands on her hips as she stares up at the Digimon, SunFlowmon backing her up as always.  
  
"Should we help?" Seth mumbles to Nakamura, who is watching with a cool kind of stare, waiting for some sign.  
  
Everything is tense, quiet, as SunFlowmon circles the much stronger digimon before her. She's only at the champion level, while this guy is mega level, and Carmella tries not to doubt her decision. "Carmella," James tries again, eager to back Sunflowmon up with at least Garudamon, but Carmella flaps her hands at him again.   
  
"Go for it, SunFlowmon!" she calls out, the frustration on her face easy for all to see. James hates it, hates himself for having to do so, but steps back, allowing her to face this challenge on her own. SunFlowmon, the poor thing, does try, but she barely gets within striking distance and PrinceMamemon takes her down with a headbutt. She lays there, dazed, while Carmella looks on in shock.  
  
Before anyone could panic or James could jump in to help, however, SunFlowmon struggles upright once more and blasts seeds at him, which barely seem to bother him as he stands there and takes it, an odd look on his face as he looks back at Carmella. "You believe you're a princess," he says with a scoff. "I don't think so, darling." As soon as the words leave his mouth, he slaps a hand out and strikes SunFlowmon hard, sending her flying back past where Carmella is standing.  
  
Carmella lets out a weak little scream, scrambling for her partner. Everyone is frozen, watching this, and it ends up being James who moves first, he and Garudamon approaching PrinceMamemon to keep him busy while Carmella tends to SunFlowmon, but PrinceMamemon has lost patience with pretty much everything and holds a hand out, starting to glow purple.   
  
"What's happening?" James asks in awe, his eyes widening as the sky darkens and purple roses begin raining down upon him and Garudamon. "Roses...?" he asks, closing his eyes as the soft petals brush against his skin soothingly.  
  
"Don't let them touch you!" Shinsuke suddenly yells at his friend, struggling to get over to him without being touched by the flood of unnatural roses. "APOLLOMON!" But it's too late. Garudamon, coated in the purple petals, wavers and then dedigivolves back to Choromon, still shivering and unstable. He's not alone either as James collapses to his knees, the roses covering his face, his body, every inch of his skin. "They're poisonous!" Nakamura yells out, and everyone stops short once more, watching on in horror as James passes out face first onto the ground, the poison already working against him.  
  
Carmella gasps, rage overwhelming her as she looks up at the cackling PrinceMamemon, enjoying every second of James and Choromon drowning in these poisonous roses. "DAMN YOU!" she cries out, struggling to her feet and pointing at him. "I won't... I won't let you get away with this!" Suddenly, a crest and tag appear before her and she scoops it out of thin air, gasping as her digivice goes off and SunFlowmon begins to digivolve behind her.   
  
She turns sharply and watching as SunFlowmon grows and changes into Lilamon, the soft pink floral creature not even waiting for the digivolution to fully end before she shoots off her first attack. "BEATY SLAP!" She spins, her arms working up a massive amount of wind that blow away all of the poisonous petals and sends them back towards PrinceMamemon, who pales and immediately waves his arms, making them all disappear before they could harm him too. While Carmella races to check on James, Lilamon makes moves to finish this right here, right now. A knife appears in her hand and she lunges forward, taking PrinceMamemon by surprise and thrusting it up into the most visible part of his body, his face, tearing his smile apart, the blade moving up towards his eyes. The screams issuing from him are horrifying and completely destroyed as data dances over the ground, everyone holding their breath until he deletes. It's abrupt and shocking but soon everyone is circling James' lifeless form, whispering and worrying as she waits and waits, gnawing at his lips as he struggles to recover.  
  
"James, please," she begs him, leaning in to kiss him. "Please wake up..."  
  
The longer he goes without responding to anything Carmella's doing, the more everyone fears for him. There are no easy quick fix and no one is sure what to do. "There has to be something," she thinks, walking back and forth and tugging at what little remains of his hair. "Pleae..."


	230. chapter 230

Carmella is still cradling James' prone body when Footmon steps forward, calm, cool, collected. His ever-present ball of golden energy is going from left to right as he kicks it nonchalantly, not interested in the humans and their petty problems. "Who's gonna fight me? I thought you all would be a lot more interesting than this!" he declares, taking off at a running start and volleying his ball right at the cluster of humans, targetting Carmella as she hugs James close and whispers to him, trying to think of a way to heal him quickly.

It's Dolph who steps up in defense of James Ellsworth, he and Beelzebumon blocking the others from the impertinent creature's sight. "We're plenty interesting, aren't we, Beelze?" Dolph asks, smirking hard into Footmon's face. "So much so that you're gonna be real entertained as we delete you like we have all of your other fellow murderous bastards."

Footmon's jaw twitches but he makes no other sign that Dolph's words have affected him. He just laughs and rockets the ball right at Dolph's face, nonplussed when Beelzebumon responds by shooting it into pieces, the light rebounding off of all of them as it dies away. He just reforms another, however, and sends this one right at Beelzebumon, and another, and another, constantly creating new balls of energy and chasing the massive demon creature with it... until his speed and stubbornness overcomes Beelzebumon and one explodes against his shoulder, sending him toppling midflight into a tree.

He sputters and sits up while Dolph runs towards him. "Are you ok!?"

"Yes, I'm fine," he says, teeth gritting in frustration as he motions at Dolph to stay away from the fight. The last thing he needs is _his_ partner hurt, especially with everything going on with James right now. He makes it back to his feet and cocks both of his guns, returning the favor by tracking every move Footmon makes, shooting rapidly. Most miss but he does eventually land a shot to Footmon's leg, sending him crashing into the stone wall with a yell of pain. Beelzebumon exhales roughly and storms over to him, not surprised when Footmon tries to reform another ball of energy. He aims his gun once more and shoots Footmon's other leg, leaving him completely helpless as data pours from his thighs and leaves him with no traction to stand.

"Please-" he gasps, light still flickering between his fingertips as he tries and fails to form another ball of energy to attack with. "Please, no-"

"Why should I listen to you begging when none of you minded hurting my fellow Digidestined?" Dolph demands, his icy cool eyes boring into Footmon's desperate gaze. The digimon is clearly so young, over his head in all of this, but it's irrelevant. "I don't like deleting digimon," he confesses, his jaw tense, hands curled into trembling fists. "I'm aware I'm part of the problem with the ocean being contaminated by streams of so much data. But sometimes, unfortunately, it just has to be done." His nod is brisk and he makes himself watch as Beelzebumon draws a claw, carefully, down Footmon's chest, slicing him open and deleting him with one solid blow. "Thank you," he tells his partner lowly.

Beelzebumon merely nods and they walk side by side back to the others, aware that the remaining two digimon are watching them in disgust, trying to formulate a plan now that they're so outnumbered, but for now all that matters to Dolph is making sure James will be alright.


	231. chapter 231

Meicrackmon looks unimpressed as she steps forward. Energy forms in the palms of her hands and she looks over the digidestined through the furry bangs covering her eyes. "Which of you are brave?" she wonders, chuckling darkly as the humans look back and forth, trying to figure out who's healthy enough to go after her.

James is still down, only just regaining consciousness, Shinsuke and Carmella surrounding him, trying to comfort him, Rusev standing watch between them and the other digimon, when Seth and Dolph step forward as one. They exchange frustrated, angry glances, when Seth shakes his hed. "We can't do this alone," he admits. "I hate you, you hate me, but the fact of the matter is we're all that's left in this situation. James needs help and we've already been fighting a long time, so we need to work together." Dark eyes search Dolph bitterly. "Can you accomplish that, do you think?"

"Can you?" he smirks.

MetalSeadramon and Beelzebumon takes the choice away from them as they lunge forward and rush towards Meicrackmon. She laughs and responds by lifting her arm, tossing lures around and creating doubles of herself to assist in fighting them off. She spins when both digimon are distracted by the fakes of her, stabbing at them with her stinger. Both avoid, snarling at her, and she laughs uproariously at the fear on their faces. "Such foolish creatures, thinking you can make a truce and get the upperhand on me. Like this. I will ruin ALL OF YOU!" she announces, shooting her tail off towards Seth and Dolph.

Seth freezes for only a second before tackling Dolph away, the attack only just missing them, her tail stabbing into the dirt. "Dammit," Seth grunts, forcing himself away from Dolph and turning to look back at her in disgust. She doesn't give up, however, her tail rushing back at him, and Seth flinches- just for it to stop a few inches away from his face, Beelzebumon shooting wildly and shredding her tail apart, data filling the mid-afternoon sky as it deletes.

She screams in horror, grabbing at her tail. "No! You asshole! What did you just do to me?!" Panicking, she surrounds herself with more copies, but there's nothing to be done for it- her tail is gone, the stinger is shredded into pieces, and there's nothing left her to do but crouch in pain and humiliation as her lack of actual strength comes back to haunt her.

"Parlor tricks," MetalSeadramon tells her. "No real fighting spirit, no ability to defend yourself. You've lost the only opportunity you've actually had. We rid this world of you, and then we only have one of you left to take care of."

"It sounds pretty damn good to me," Beelzebumon says, reloading his gun.

"Me too," MetalSeadramon agrees. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are," he nods, flanking MetalSeadramon. Energy pours from MetalSeadramon's cannon, overwhelming Meicrackmon, and Beelzebumon aims at her chest, locking on and quickly shooting. She screams as the bullet rends through her already weakened form, deleting her.

Seth and Dolph exhale before turning back to the other digidestined, to the sneering Kumbhiramon waiting nearby. "You're next," Seth tells him.

They all freeze, watching as he begins laughing mockingly, the wind echoing with it and leaving them all uncomfortable and worried.


	232. chapter 232

They're down to one. Kumbhiramon does not seem worried, even though he has nine digidestined staring back at him, James slowly struggling to his feet as Carmella clings to his arm and Shinsuke braces him upright. He's clearly not with it, eyes barely focused, and Kumbhiramon laughs at him, skittering forward on his thin legs to aim its pestle at him. Carmella screams and Shinsuke pushes them both aside, a challenge on his face as he stretches his hands out on either side of his body and waits.

"Shin-" James struggles to spit out, his eyes roving uncomfortably under his closed eyelids. Carmella's touch is the only thing that grounds him and he forces his eyes open, staring up at her. "Carmella- where-" She looks over her shoulder and he follows her gaze, finding Shinsuke standing face to face with Kumbhiramon, undisturbed by the creature's pestle hanging mere inches from his face. "What- what's he doing?"

They figure it out when Apollomon bursts out of nowhere and sends a flaming fist right at Kumbhiramon, the smaller digimon scrambling away just in time to miss most of the damage from the attack. Apollomon and Nakamura stand side by side, Shinsuke thrilled with himself, when Kumbhiramon dives past him and separates into six, diving- one towards Apollomon, one towards Carmella and James. Two more lunge towards MetalSeadramon and Beelzebumon, another landing between Lilamon and Garudamon, just for the final copy to swipe through where Aiden English, Xavier Woods and AJ Styles are hiding with their young digimon, scrambling and diving and doing all sorts of damage while they're not expecting it and unable to properly defend themselves right away.

"NO!" Seth yells, holding his digivice up. "METALSEADRMON!" He can't digivolve further, but the glow of energy stabs through and powers his partner up, allowing him to fight free from the ocpy and rescue Beelzebumon, who could barely target the copy and had been quickly knocked aside, left to struggle until now. MetalSeadramon dissolves the copy with a blast of lightning from its horn, turning quickly to rid the others of their own copies. Once the three new digidestined are safe, he turns back to the fight and watches with some amusement as Rusev screams at Bakemon, who shreds through one of the copies like it's nothing.

Trying to figure out which isn't a copy is almost easy, any time the one standing between Lilamon and Garudamon are it, as the others get taken care of one by one. Seth stands with his hands on his hips and frowns at the true Kumbhiramon. "So now we've figured out your trick," he calls out to him. "It won't be so easy to confuse us next time. What now?"

Kumbhiramon stares at him blankly for a long moment. "I suppose," he says with a smirk," the only thing to do now is take ALL OF YOU WITH ME!" and he lunges again Seth's eyes widening when he rushes past Seth without him seeing anything.

The glow that comes from his spirit, the power from the digiworld he's collected for who knows how many years, pulses darkly and Seth swallows hard, remembering that power. Hating it. _We could lose any hope the next time I can pay attention to what's going on,_ he realizes with a sigh.

Squaring his shoulders, Seth motions at Kumbhiramon. "Bring it on," he urges him, glancing around for support while he waits for the tru fight to begin..


	233. chapter 233

Kumbhiramon still seems unflappable. Nonplussed by MetalSeadramon, by Beelzebumon, by Apollomon, and Lilamon, Bakemon and Garudamon. Nothing seems to be breaking through his cool. Seth nor Nakamura quite seem sure what to do next, exchanging glances. Their individual discomfort isn't hindered by any speech barrier or anything else.

"I'm going to destroy you now," Kumbhiramon suddenly says, all eyes locking on him as he skitters forward on his thin legs. They blink and it happens- his pestle blasts forward, explodes against MetalSeadramon, past into Beelzebumon, into Apollomon, into Lilamon, Bakemon, Garudamon. All of their partners, in a blink of an eye, reduced to baby level creatures, collapsed on the ground, moaning piteously, near deletion.

Seth swallows. Hard. Can't fathom how any of this is happening, why things keep swinging from salvageable to absolutely ruined in the blink of an eye. Especially this close to the end- when they only had _one_ left... He wavers, staggers. Wishes Dean were here.

But they're not alone- not entirely. AJ Styles is nearby, and Aiden English, and Xavier Woods. He'd forgotten about the Smackdown men, since they'd hidden themselves as best as they could, their partners still too little and defenseless to be much help in this fight. But now they show themselves, Xavier stands strong and sure in front of Seth, while Aiden blocks Rusev from view of the much shorter Digimon, but it's AJ who makes them all goggle when he darts between the still shaky, weakened James Ellsworth and Carmella, a maddened look in his dark eyes. "You're not touchin' any of 'em," he informs Kumbhiramon with the confidence and ease only a champion could contain.

Thrusting out his digivice, the other two mimick his actions and they watch as their partner digimon get covered in a glow of power. "You know what's fascinating about our partners?" Xavier asks, excited but covering it with an eager kind of pride. "Even though most Digimon have baby forms, ours don't. They last at these forms forever, because they contain a special kind of power. A special ability. So you may attack with the intension of weakening them like you did our friends' partners, but you won't get too far."

Kumbhiramon roars. Which is a ridiculous sound to come from such a small creature. But no one seems disturbed by it, holding their ground and waiting as the three digimon finally snap free from their cocoon of power. Pekomon, Modoki Betamon, Jammingmon, they're all higher levels now, more powerful. Stingmon is the only one somewhat recognizable, Seth swallowing hard as a bird type Digimon gawks over at him for a moment before flapping its bright, multi-colored wings and flies towards Kumbhiramon, closely followed by Stingmon and a strange creature seemingly only held together by zippers- properly named Dezipmon. Despite their size and Kumbhiramon's power, they run circles around him- they're young, and powerful, and fresh data while he's old, and stuck in his ways, unwilling to concede to these newer digimon types.

So all he can do is try to fight _around_ Stingmon and Roamon, eyes widening when he realizes what exactly Dezipmon is doing, a sharp sound of something zipping rending the air as pain stabs up Kumbhiramon's side. "NO!" he screams, twisting around and slapping at Dezipmon but then Stingmon is there, stabbing him through with massive spikes on his arms. "N- no!" He's losing data, he can feel his strength slowly leaving him and he screams, growing disoriented when his scream changes, Roamon floating in front of him and pouring sound waves out over his body, changing his voice into that of a weak squeak. Another zipping sound pounds through Kumbhiramon's consciousness and his legs give out, sending him collapsing to the ground below as Stingmon sends a volley of spikes at him, each one colliding in a kind of disgusting explosion that sends more of his precious data out onto the evening wind.

He tries to cry out again- but it comes out as little more than a pathetic croak, Kumbhiramon's eyes widening as he realizes these three pathetic creatures have beaten him. Another harsh pain rips up his body, between his ears, and he scrambles, the last of his life leaving him with a wave of Stingmon's antennae. He shatters into little pieces and just like that, everything is over. All of the weeks of pain and torment, uncertainty and horror, and the twelve digimon that were after them are all vanquished. Leaving just one little Calumon behind, her eyes wide and fixed on Seth as he gently lays her down. "Go on now," he says kindly, feeling no ill will towards her as tears fill her eyes and she quickly runs away, eager to not be anyone's pawn ever again.

Xavier laughs as Seth claps him on the shoulder, AJ kneeling near James and saying something like only he gets to torment James like that, _maybe_ Ambrose, and Rusev is searching Aiden incredulously for any harm, a bemused smile on his face as he tries to piece together his limited English reserves to thank the man properly for saving him.

Their digimon are still weak, will need time to recover and regroup, and Seth isn't sure what will end up happening by the time they return here, but he looks forward to facing it with all of his fellow Digidestined and their partners.


	234. chapter 234

Since defeating the group of digimon, things have changed for both Raw and Smackdown. James Ellsworth had recovered, but gotten fired after annoying Paige one time too many, which leaves Smackdown with even less fire power. Also, Dean Ambrose finally returns from injury and, although he's more silent and brooding, he fits right back in, eager for fights and almost enthusiastic every time there's danger.

Seth is worried, clearly, but he tries to give his former partner space to sort himself out, figure out his place in the group after being gone almost a year. Calumon is still hanging around, helpful with the reserves of digivolution power in his body, but all in all, they're not sure what to do with him, his safety difficult to assure as more time passes, the battles to safe-guard him from digimon hungry for more power growing more desperate tinged and hungry.

"This can't continue on," Shinsuke tells Luke, a displeased look on his face. "Actual missions aren't getting completed, the world is going to shambles, because we have to constantly protect Calumon. Isn't there something you can do?"

Luke stares from him to the young, scared Digimon. Bites his lip and paces back and forth, arms tucked behind his back. "There is one thing," he says. "I'm not sure how well it'll go over, however. It means I have to drag someone back into this world when they've been comfortably free from it for a very long time."

Shinsuke gets this look on his face like he knows who exactly Luke means but he keeps it to himself. "You should do it as quickly as possible," he says, turning to leave.

"I will," Luke says, stopping him mid-step. "Everything will work out this time, Shinsuke. I promise you."

"Your promises mean very little to me," Nakamura informs him coolly. "But for the sake of the others... for the sake of this world... for the sake of earth, I hope it does."

As he continues on his way, clearly eager to leave, Luke exhales harshly, hands twisting together anxiously now that Shinsuke can't see how anxious and worried he is.

He hopes it does too.


	235. chapter 235

After Australia, things start to slowly click again. The Raw Digidestined all walk quietly through the digiworld, Seth listening as the group behind him whisper and mumble amongst themselves. He looks around, thoughtful and careful as he picks around a crater from a previous battle that he vaguely remembers. He's approaching one of the flashing red lights on the digivice when Dean walks up alongside him, Seth glancing over at him with a small smile. "Hey."

"Hey." Betamon and Otamamon are at their feet, exchanging glances, when Dean locks eyes with Seth. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he says. He's sore, he'd been pretty battered by Strowman, Drew and Ziggler, not to mention jetlag and the general grind wearing him down, but he feels a little better as Dean examines him closely. Something changed in Australia, Dean had been distant, angry after his injury and Seth thinks Dolph and Drew were nearly correct in their accessment of the Shield drama, or at least Dean's POV and it eats at him so badly to think Dean really, truly felt so alone and thrown aside during his injury. But between Roman taking all of Braun's weight on in a spear through the barricade, and Seth crawling towards Dean, _screaming_ for him, things had changed. Dean had begun to react again, helping Roman out of the reckage, and initializing a hug with Seth, lightly kissing the top of his forehead before letting him go for the three of them to hold their fists out to confirm their brotherhood.

"You sure?" Dean asks.

"Yep." Seth won't be running any races, or doing any high intensity crossfit work outs for a couple days, but it's a start. They walk on silently, side by side, Seth feeling Dean's fingers brushing against his with each step taken. They're just about to walk forward through the gate into the village, when something flashes before them and SEth moves quickly, pushing Dean to the side and down. He blinks hard when he feels a faint thread of pain down his side and forces his eyes open. He's held to the ground by a blade, the fabric of his shirt held to the snagged by the blade, blood trickling down his ribs. Whenever he tries to move, more pain shoots through his already taxed body and he whimpers.

"SETH!" Dean yells, the other digidestined behind him gasping. All eyes shift slowly from Seth to rest on a creature that seems to be formed by nothing but swords. _Ouryumon._ Betamon rushes to his partner while Dean grits his teeth and holds his digivice out to Otamamon. "Go!"

After digivolving to Plesiomon, he turns his attention to Ouryumon, a mournful cry coming from deep in his diaphram and Ouryumon grits his teeth, wavering where he stands before shaking his head roughly and sending more swords out, Dean instinctively shielding Seth's body with his own as he waits for the attack to land- but Betamon is there, Betamon digivolves to Seadramon and blasts the swords away with ice, freezing them and causing them to crash to the ground. Pleasiomon lands heavily in front of Ouryumon and tries again, sending stronger shockwaves out at him and feeling as his very digicore rattles. It's not enough, however, Ouryumon at a level so beyond most others that it's intimidating.

Seadramon joins him and they continue to work together, just for swords to slice through the air and only just miss where they're standing, Seth staring up at Dean as he gingerly feels around Seth's side to figure out how bad the damage is. Meanwhile, back at the fight, Gaogamon and Beelzebumon join them. Dolph nor Owens are thrilled to be helping the Shield brothers and their partners, but they seem to realize it's necessary after everything that the groups have experienced together.

"Is it serious?" Owens asks grimly, kneeling down close to Seth and Dean.

"I don't think so," Dean says, gritting his teeth and glaring distrustfully from Owens to Dolph as they hover nearby, watching the battle carry on. "Seth, what do you think?"

"I think I'm fine," he says, voice shaking a little. "Get me free."

Owens and Dean exchange glances before Owens grips the hilt of the sword and pulls it out of the ground, freeing Seth. Dean immediately moves, pressing down on the bloody portion of Seth's shirt, holding his breath when no serious amount of blood starts pouring out between his fingers. He gingerly pulls back and looks at the wound, exhaling softly when he sees that it's very minor. "I'm ok," Seth mumbles, closing his eyes and leaning against Dean as he tugs him up gingerly. He takes a minute before turning back to the fight, holding his digivice out. "SEADRAMON!"

MegaSeadramon appears a moment later and arches his nose at the digimon. "THUNDER JAVELIN!" Mixing with Gaogamon's wind attacks and Plesiomon's soundwaves, the strong amount of energy slams into Ouryumon, leaving him weakened and struggling to attack again with his swords. Before he can make a desperate move, however, Beelzebumon aims his gun and shoots wildly at Ouryumon, the various projectiles from his attack slicing through what remains of Ouryumon's strength, finally causing it to shatter in half, the digimon quickly deleting before their very eyes.

Seth exhales, relaxing a little bit, and Plesiomon says something about the digital ocean, Dolph frowning as he stares up at Plesiomon, lost in thought. He's heard a lot about the digital ocean, especially in connection with the sea of data in the middle of the ocean, growing in size and depth every time they delete a digimon. As he joins the others, a hesitant plan begins to form to bring him some badly needed answers.


	236. chapter 236

Shinsuke hums to himself, his body moving to the beat of the song playing in his head. The others are behind him, but he barely pays attention to them. They're quiet and tense anyway, Aiden, Rusev and Lana all carefully ignoring each other while Miz and Asuka whisper to each other, alternating between Japanese and English. Carmella, AJ and Xavier are the only ones who seem calm as they follow along slowly, glancing back at the former members of Rusev Day and watching Awe-ska attempting to communicate. He continues to twitch his hands, shifting his hips as he dances in his eclectic, jerky style.

Coronamon's sudden absence, however, stops Shinsuke in his tracks and he turns slowly, looking for his partner. When he sees a green tinted digimon known as Zassoumon, thick vines curled around Coronamon's body, he knows exactly what's going on. "You have Calumon," the evil Digimon informs him, a scythe appearing in his vines and digging into Coronamon's vulnerable throat. "I want him. Give me him now or your friend will die."

Shinsuke takes a minute. Looks from Coronamon to Asuka as she holds onto Calumon, an angry looking Mike standing between her and Zassoumon. "You're not touching Calumon!" Mike yells, which only serves to goad the evil digimon as he tightens his grip on Coronamon.

"He is right," Shinsuke says calmly. "You will not win this fight. Coronamon!" He holds his digivice out and shakes his head slowly, tapping one finger against his digivice.

Coronamon's teeth flash as he digivolves, not to Apollomon but to the slightly weaker form of Firamon, fire bursting from his haunches as wings unfurl from his back. Zassoumon laughs at the creature, clearly unimpressed, and shrugs, ivy fluttering temptingly around his arms. Firamon seems unimpressed however, and as the vines come slamming towards him, he slashes through them, setting what remains of them into flame. He's not yet, diving forward with flames licking at every appedage and some of his body.

Firamon doesn't care in the slightest, dashing forward while still alit in flames, and tackles Zassoumon, singeing his body and melting the pride off of his face as he dives in again and again, repeatedly marking him with flames, before Zassoumon tries one desperate last attempt at winning this fight- waits for Firamon to stop moving and throws his scythe at the other digimon. Firamon merely snorts out a breath before focusing what remains of his powers into his forehead, a bomb shooting out of it and exploding against the scythe, flames engulfing the blade before it rebounds and slices clean through Zassoumon, the creature barely managing a scream before deleting right then, right there. Everything had happened so fast, there was no need or time to truly involve hte others.

Shinsuke smirks and briskly rubs Firamon's forehead before he returns to his standard form, Coronamon ignoring the others as they whisper amongst each other about him, his partner, the weather. Everything woring that the standard human treats as though it's the most interesting thing in the world. Their words fail to bother him then, and they continue to be vapid and disinteresting as they make their way to the next area flashing on the digivice.


	237. chapter 237

"Welcome back," Seth says, staring at Tamina Snuka as she rotates her shoulders, standing tall and unbothered by everything around them. All of the changes since her injury.

She tilts her head at him, smirks. "Thank you." She'd been a part of Smackdown, but the switch over to Raw hasn't bothered her in the slightest, it seems. Piyomon looks a little more wary of the others than she does, but as she exudes confidence and calm, so does her partner, and Seth nods at them before turning to look at his digivice.

It's a busy day for activity, numerous trouble spots registering on his digivice, and he sighs, wondering if they can address all of them before it gets too late. Dean is staring at him from across the way, an unfathomable look in his eyes, and Seth decides to get moving before he does or says something that will get him back on his brother's bad side. "C'mon, gang, let's outta here."

When they arrive at the nearest spot on the map, Seth pauses, a little disoriented. It's not even a village and they all look around for the cause of the alert still flashing steadily on the digivice. "Huh, maybe it's a glitch?" he wonders, tapping the screen like he expects that to honestly do anything worthwhile.

While their partners look around for some sign of trouble, the humans cluster around Seth, also checking their digivices, each map showing something similar. "Damn, what's goin' on?" Heath wonders, blowing out a breath and shaking his head.

"I wish I knew," Seth mumbles, stepping away from the group and casting a suspicous glance around. It's quiet. Too quiet. His mouth twisting into a grimace, he digs his hands into his pockets and rocks forward, shielding his eyes from the bright sun shining down. "What is going on?" He's about to turn back to the others and suggest they move on to the other spots when something catches his eye and he spins towards it- only just spotting Mamemon X-Antibody before everything catches up with him. This split second movement is the only thing that spares him as something riffs against his side and only the edge of an explosion blasts his body back, Seth hitting hard and staring up at the sky, winded and in some serious pain.

"WHOA!" Dean's voice, frantic and loud, shouts from a fair distance away and Seth blinks a few times as he skids to his side, his worried face wavering in front of his vision. "Seth! SETH!"

"I- I..." Seth's ears are ringing and his body feels like it's burning. "What..."

"Just breathe," Dean says, cupping his face. "Look at me, Seth." Their eyes lock and Seth struggles to say something but Dean shakes his head. "No, no talking. Just breathe, brother. You're gonna be alright." He looks up and anger crosses his face. "Otamamon!"

But Seth can tell by the sounds nearby that the others have it, Heath yelling out at Duftmon, more explosions sounding nearby. "Shit," Dean hisses, suddenly covering Seth's prone body with his own. "Watch that shit, would you?!" he yells out, glaring over at the battle that Seth can't see.

"Sorry! Just... hold tight, we almost got 'im!" Heath calls back, Seth groaning softly as a colorful arch from Duftmon's sword appears in the sky overhead.

"Beautiful," he breathes out, fingers trembling as he reaches towards the impressive effect. Dean snags his hand and presses it close to his chest, shaking his head down at him, and Seth frowns at him, not understanding the flash of fear he sees in Dean's eyes.

"One of us having a near death experience this year is enough, Seth, don't you dare-" His words get muffled and Seth closes his eyes, biting his lip at the pain pulsing through his side.

"Dean..." he whispers, shivering a little. When Dean leans in closer, wraps his jacket around Seth's midsection, warm tenderness fills his chest and Seth finds the strength to open his eyes, watch Dean a little longer. "I'm sorry... sorry I keep failing you..."

Dean shakes his head vehemently, digging his fingers into Seth's jaw. "It's not you, alright? It's not, I swear... You're... you're just _you..._ I'm really messed up right now. Don't blame yourself. I'm trying to work through it. I just need time."

"Sorry I'm pushy," Seth breathes, lips twitching up into a bemused grimace. "I just... want everything to be ok... I've missed you..."

Dean closes his eyes and presses his forehead to Seth's, staring into his eyes, when there's another, louder, stronger explosion, and Dean shifts, shielding Seth's body once more.

Once everything calms, quiets down, Heath lets out a whoop. "Duftmon, you're the best damn partner a guy could ask for!"

Dean laughs weakly. "I think Heath beat him."

"Sounds like it," Seth nods wearily. He feels strangely cold and hot at the same time, searching Dean's face. "It's bad, huh?" He feels weak, his words slurring against his thick tongue, and he kind of can just tell. Wonders what a full on hit would've been like, if there would've been anything left, and he sighs, sinking into the warmth of Dean's jacket, breathing raspily.

"No, you don't get to do that. Seth!" Dean slaps his face a couple of times before scrambling away.

When Seth opens his eyes again, Dean is pacing in the background, Zack Ryder kneeling by Seth, his digivice held out. Seraphimon is holding his hand over Seth's prone body, warm light washing over him, over Heath and Lopmon, over the rest of the digidestined, healing various injuries from life on the road, matches they've competed in recently. Healing Seth's injuries, reversing everything that Mamemon had done to him with one swipe of his fist.

Seth sighs softly when the light fades away. Even his knee feels better than it has in a long time as he gingerly sits up, Dean scrambling to his side to help him. "I'm ok," he says, not making any serious moves to free himself from Dean's grip. He stares at him as the digidestined milling around pointedly puts their focus elsewhere, all too aware of the tension between the Shield members. "Are we?"

Dean stares at him for a long, tense moment, before throwing his arms around Seth and hugging him tightly, kissing his forehead when he eventually pulls away, an awkward, anxious look about him. "Yeah. We're fine." He exhales, then, punching Seth hard in the arm. "Don't ever scare me like that again or I'll sicc Roman on you."

Seth laughs a little, rubbing his arm. "I'll do my best not to, then," he promises with a soft smirk on his lips.


	238. chapter 238

It's not difficult to figure out why the digivices are guiding them to this one spot- the terrain is rocky, the air is humid and cloying, and... there's a volcano poking up from the ground not far away, a massive digimon seemingly drawing power from it. Mike swallows down his hesitation and steps forward, staring at the large, winged creature hovering in the air. "Monodramon," he says quietly, relieved when his partner steps up alongside him. "Digivolve. Now."

Justimon's appearance seems to do nothing but attract Volcanicdramon's attention and he roars, arching back and pouring flame towards Justimon. The digimon barely blinks, scoops Mike up and flies them both to safety. Mike gasps as soon as his feet are on the ground again but before he can say or do anything, Justimon is off, gearing up for another fight. Before Justimon has reached him, Volcanicdramon rams into him so quickly that they all gape in horror, flames spiraling around Justimon and seemingly melting his body as he screams in agony. "JUSTIMON!" Mike yells out in fright, dashing forward but stopping short as the heat and flames grow in intensity.

"Lilamon!" Carmella cries out, and her partner whips forward.

"DEZIPMON!" Aiden calls out, the creature who seemingly is made fully of zippers lunges towards them, stripping the flames of its data and absorbing it while Lilamon flaps her wings wildly and keeps Volcanicdramon at bay while Dezipmon collects a limp Monodramon and brings him to safety, Mike scooping his partner up and holding him close, breathing heavily. He's covered in burns and his breathing is ragged, Dezipmon dashing back into the fight to help Lilamon. Stingmon, Bakemon and Roamon joins the fray, Volcanicdramon overwhelming all of them with flames.

"How are we going to beat him?" Aiden gasps, _almost_ locking eyes with Rusev and Lana before they all remember and look away, tense and disgusted with each other after the last few weeks. They're all distracted by Asuka speaking in Japanese to Calumon, the little creature nodding wildly. "What's she saying?"

Calumon suddenly lets out a cry, her body flashing with energy and light as she floats out of Asuka's arms and stretches her arms and legs out, squeezing her eyes shut as the pressure in her body builds. "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" she screams, the energy bursting from her and blasting into Lilamon, causing her to freeze right in the middle of the fight.

"Lilamon!" Carmella cries out fearfully, her eyes widening as her partner starts to digivolve right then, right there.

"Lilamon digivolve to..." Her body strips, reforming into a tall, confident looking Digimon with red dress covering her body and arms, while black thigh highs sprawl down her legs, vines curling around her wrists and hands. "ROSEMON!" Volcanicdramon looks unbothered by her appearance, but he barely gets another attack off before she's on him, her entire body flashing with fresh power, enhanced by the fresh digivolution and Calumon's power. "FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION!" she cries out, the jewel around her throat lighting up and enhancing her power, quickly blasting out and overwhelming Volcanicdramon, deleting him instantly.

Rosemon lands elegantly by Carmella and the Staten Island Princess squeals, hugging her tightly. As Asuka and Calumon approach, Carmella scritches the little digimon. "Thank you both so much, I thought we'd all be goners..." she says quietly, and Asuka nods with a small smile as Calumon blushes.

"Our pleasure," Asuka says, turning to look at Mike. Her brows furrow in worry when she realizes he's still cradling a lifeless Monodramon in his hands. They leave Carmella and Rosemon and approach him, Asuka's eyes filling with sadness for her Mixed Match Partner. She's about to say something when Calumon floats free from her touch and settles down upon Monodramon, glowing with some power.

"What- what's happening?" Mike breathes out, startled by the warm energy tickling his palms. All he can do is watch as the burns slowly disappear from Monodramon's tortured flesh, his partner regaining his natural color, his breathing returning to normal. "Monodramon?!"

When his eyes open, Mike sobs and throws his arms around him, Asuka's teeth flashing as she grins at Calumon, plucking her out of the air as they watch Monodramon nudge Mike, confused and startled by his partner's reaction to seeing him awake. Asuka walks off to give them a minute and lifts Calumon up in the air, making her giggle. "You are the best partner I could have ever asked for," Asuka tells her and Calumon wiggles happily.


	239. chapter 239

Everything is tense. Quiet. Seth is barely speaking. Dean is not there. TJ feels, somehow, like a child trapped between arguing parents, which he had enough of in his actual childhood, thank you very much. So he claps his hands together loudly and looks at all of the wrestlers. "Well, let's get this show on the road!" No one moves, some shoot frustrated looks at him, others seem to agree with him, but they all seem to be waiting for Seth to do something. "Oh come on, guys, we're supposed to be helping out around the Digiworld, not sitting near Luke's, pouting," he insists, and this gets more of a reaction as some of the other Digidestined actually glare at him. "Right?"

Seth turns and walks up to him. "We're waiting for Dean." TJ makes a displeased noise deep in his throat and Seth glares down at him. "If you don't like it, _TJP_ , then you can go help the Digimon all you want. You have the same map system as the rest of us."

TJ quirks an eyebrow at him. "Ok, fine. Someone might as well get something done around here." He snaps his hoodie in place and walks off, standing straight and as tall as he can as he walks purposely across the land, Falcomon gliding after him before perching on his shoulder.

"TJ."

"Yeah, Falcomon?"

"We're heading towards the ice territories."

TJ groans. "Great," he mumbles, regretting his thin, baggy clothing even more now. He powers through, however, ignoring the cold and the sleet as it clings to his skin, takes his breath away. "Hanging in there, Falcomon?" He holds his breath until his partner makes a noise against his cheek, folding up on himself as he waits it out. TJ thinks he can tell when they're getting closer- the wind gets brisker, the ice blowing against them grows thicker, and all in all, he becomes more miserable, his eyes and nose running desperately. "Few... more... feet..." he tells himself, trudging through snow and ice in shoes definitely not made for such things, slipping and almost falling a million times.

They're just in a bit of a lull when- "ICE CRUSHER AVALANCHE!" The lull immediately disappears as a flood of ice chards cover them, freezing TJ so badly that he can't even move his mouth enough for his teeth to chatter. He does manage, at least, to lift his hand with the Digivice in it, and watch as Falcomon digivolves to Birdramon, which helps melt a fair amount of the ice around them. As soon as he can move again, TJ wraps his arms around himself and steps back to witness the battle properly get going. The Digimon they're against is a purple creature with horns and white wings and he notices some of the symbols look like an IceDevimon's, so he guesses that this is some strange alteration in that digivolution line, growing more and more intrigued by this world as time goes by.

It's not a difficult fight, nothing the digimon tries works against Birdramon, the ice immediately melting as soon as it touches her, and IceDevimon Daipenmon Enhancement Absorbent seems to except this as he instead seems to be drawing the digimon away by blasting nearby villages with his ice powers, distracting him by the ice slowly creeping towards houses and innocent digimon just living their lives. TJ about to yell a warning out to his partner, when the lifeless gaze of his red eyes lock on TJ. Birdramon is too far away to do anything, it all happens so fast, ice chards clinging to his skin, freezing into his hair, building up quickly and turning his skin into a full sheet of ice. He can't blink, he can't twitch his fingers, he can't move his feet. It hurts so bad, being frozen alive bit by bit like this, and he can't even say or do anything, just stand there and take it.

 _What a lame way to die,_ he thinks, closing his eyes and feeling a tear dry fruitlessly a couple inches down his cheek. His heart is slowing, he can barely breathe, and then- and then-

"Blazing Spheres!" Youkomon blasts onto the scene, fireballs crashing again and again and again into IceDevimon, his screams of pain echoing around them as his ice powers are melted and he collapses, Youkomon standing over him, patiently waiting.

"Finish it," Tamina says a moment later, standing next to TJ with a frozen. "Hurry up, we need you over here."

Youkomon nods, her tail lighting up as a dragon made entirely of flame bursts out and runs straight through IceDevimon, shattering him into pieces. Youkumon returns to TJ's side and carefully flutters fireballs around him, careful not to get too close to his skin. Birdramon returns then, and helps out where he can, but only Youkumon has the careful kind of control to do this without harming TJ more.

Once the ice is weak enough to break on its own, TJ falls to his knees and gasps, rubbing feeling back into his raw, trembling flesh. "Thank you," he says softly, looking up at Tamina.

"Next time," she tells him coolly, "be patient and stay with the group." Brushing her hair over her shoulder, she marches back the way she'd come, TJ's eyes fiixed on her back.

"Yes ma'am."


	240. chapter 240

Another day, another tense mission in the Digiworld. No one seems especially happy this trip, Carmella the only one bothering to talk and snap gum and keep things moving as they walk through one village to the next just to find some miniscule dot on the digivice htat barely seems to be registering anything right now.

"That's weird, ain't it? We've had multiple alerts at once for months, and now today, just this little weak one? I mean I ain't complaining, but yeah, seems weird." Floramon seems to tbe the only one bothering to listen to her, everyone else marching on behind or in front of her. No one responds, or tells her to shut up, and she frowns at the back of the Miz. "I guess jetlag's eatin' at everyone," she chirps, shrugging.

Asuka and Miz are walking quietly side by side in front of her and Xavier is behind her when- everything seems to explode all at once, Carmella's hearing growing muffled as she hits the ground hard and shudders, finding herself a few feet away from where remembers standing. "Oh my God," she exhales. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God."

"Carmella!" Floramon yells, Carmella only just hearing this as she looks up.

"Don't come closer!" she calls to her partner, struggling to sit up through the pain eating up her body. "Stay where you're at, we're not sure-" And then she hears it, the soft noise of an attack rushing quite at her and she looks up. "Move away, Floramon! Please!"

Floramon is on the outskirts, having been thrown furthre rmost of the others because of her size. "Floramon!" she groans out, only just looking up in time ot see Xavier shift .. and then a bright, engulfing lgiht that makes everything feel a thousand times worse.

The last thing Carmella feels before getting engulfed by _this_ is that it _would_ have to happen this close to the holidays. lost in the shadows that grow and plan for all contingencies hiding within plain sisight. Once the aftermath from the attack starts to clear, an armored Digimon standing nearby smirks all pf the way with he way through talking to Luke's homeline and decides to leave him a message. shaking his head at the humans' continued fallac is a promisnig starty James thinks. Maybe.."

Convinced that they're doing the right thing even harder, Carmella and Aiden were given permions not to bother. I suppose tonight is the first thing I'm honestly going to watch that piece of shift tapings Yikes..


	241. chapter 241

"I don't think this is a good idea," Gabumon says, following his partner closely. "Drake-"

"Look, I haven't had the best of nights," Drake informs him, eyes ablaze with embarassment and shame. "I don't want to face the rest of the Raw team right now. So either stop telling me how you think I'm doing everything wrong, or go back to them. I just..." His eyes dull. "I can't right now."

Gabumon looks on sympathetically as Drake continues walking on, his head ducked against the elements. It's cold, rainy, all in all a miserable day. He trudges after him, trying not to say anything that would add to his torment. He thinks perhaps enough time has passed, even he shivering under his thick fur coat, about to suggest to Drake they turn back around and go back to the others, but then there's a loud, dangerous roar that interrupts him a word or two in, and-

"Oh shit," he breathes out, immediately lunging forward and tackling Drake, only just knocking him out of the way of a huge stream of fire. "Drake!" he snaps, jumping back up and lunging for the huge dinosaur creature that's looming over them.

Drake rolls over and gapes in disbelief. "Can this day get any worse?" he mumbles, just for another flash of flame to barrel over him. "Ok, I need to shut up, it clearly can." He clings desperately to his digivice, wishing he knew what to do. He gasps as Gabumon is sent flying, only just shifting aside to take his weight, brace his fall. He groans as his back impacts with the ground, hugging his partner close. "Gabumon!"

"I- I'm ok," the young digimon slurs, but it's not true. There are burn marks and bruises all over his body and Drake swallows hard, tears in his eyes as he clings to Gabumon. "Drake... I need to digivolve..."

"How? How do I make that happen?"

Gabumon stares up at him. "I know it's not easy after tonight, but you... you need to believe in me."

"I _do,_ " he exhales, burying his face in Gabumon's neck. "I truly do, Gabumon." The light that suddenly bursts out of his digivice startles both of them, Gabumon painfully easing away from Drake as the power of digivolution takes him over.

Garurumon is a beautiful creature, sleek and powerful, and Drake sits, staring upwwards as the wolf-type digimon tackles Greymon X-Antibody and easily avoids his flame attacks, using the momentum of his tail attack to take him down with ice, biting clean through his frozen body and delete him with very little issue, his screams eventually fading away to nothing.

Drake breathes a little easier once it's done, staring over at his partner as Garurumon lands next to him. "Do you want to go back to the others now?" he wonders, kneeling down so Drake could climb up on his back.

He thinks for a minute before stepping forward, some of the fight back in his gaze. "I'm ready whenever you are," he says, settling comfortably upon his partner's haunches and holding on as they take to the sky.

Once they find the other digidestined, Seth runs up to Garurumon. "There you guys are! You had us worried!" He stares at Garurumon. "I see you digivolved. Congrats, man."

"Thank you," Garurumon says before shifting back down to his Gabumon form once Drake is safely on the ground. He looks hesitant to join the others but they're all distracted with other things- results from Survivor Series or backstage drama or scouring the maps for new places that need assistance, and no one even blinks twice when Drake walks through the group, Gabumon by his side,

"I think everything's going to be alright," Drake says softly and Gabumon nods.

"I believe so, yes."


	242. chapter 242

Rusev purposely keeps his eyes straight ahead, watching the grassy area before them. Aiden and his partner are somewhere behind Rusev and Lana, and he doesn't want to pay the man any attention. Hasn't interacted with him since their match and wants to keep it that way, after everything that's happened since. He sneers, squeezing Lana's hand tighter, aware that Aiden is probably watching, stewing with jealousy and hurt, Rusev finding that he's hungry to see it for himself so he turns, pushing some grass out of the way for his wife and looking around her to see the Digidestined behind her, search out his former best friend, when he feels a sharp pain in the back of his leg, the sort of pain that causes him to immediately collapse, his legs buckling underneath him.

"Rusev!" Lana cries out, moving towards him, but DemiDevimon stops her with a shout. "Be careful!" Everyone freezes at the tone of his voice, looking around worriedly. "It's a Panbachimon!"

"A what now?" a few of the digidestined mumble amongst themselves as Rusev looks back at the strange bear like creature carrying around a bamboo shoot, with antennae and a stinger on his back.

"Panbachimon," DemiDevimon gasps. "Very poisonous, hates everyone. His venom is deadly, Rusev..."

"Destroy him!" Rusev snaps, holding his digivice out with one hand while cupping his bleeding wound with the other. As soon as Bakemon has formed and is going after the vicious digimon who'd done this to Rusev, Lana kneels down by her husband, tears filling her eyes as she takes in how pale he is, his breathing raspy and faint. "I'll be fine," he reassures her, even as pain stabs through his leg. "I will."

"You'd better be," she says through her tears, both of them freezing when Aiden drops his bookbag down next to them and kneels in the dirt at Rusev's side. "Don't you date touch him!" Lana snaps at him and he ignores her, setting to work.

Rusev, instead of freaking out, seems curious as Aiden works quickly at his side, none of them paying much attention to the sound of fighting nearby, Bakemon and Panbachimon brawling all around them, only visible sometimtes. He cries out when Aiden presses a towel drenched in something brown and very strong smelling onto Rusev's leg, taping it in place with some duct tape he has inside. "S'that... that whiskey?" Rusev breathes out and Aiden looks up at him.

"Yes," he says softly. "I was filming my show and had a bottle of it in my bag. Perhaps it may help until we get back to earth and you can get proper treatment."

Rusev flexes his ankle and nods, surprised to find he's already feeling better. "Aiden."

"Yes?" he asks, not bothering to turn around.

Rusev sighs, thinking about everything that led to them not being friendly anymore. _I guess..._ "Thank you for the help."

"You're welcome." He adjusts his bag and walks off as Bakemon, just visible through the trees, deletes Panbachimon by slapping a massive, decayed hand over it, only removing it once he can't feel any more struggling within.

"Thank everything," Rusev groans once the hand is lifted to reveal nothing but emptiness within. As he gets to his feet and starts each, painstaking step towards the digivice he wishes not for the first time that Rusev is willing to help him. "Oh well..."

He's not injured too seriously so he looks ahead to what the thin guy is doing, when Johnny just sets off".. each of his Dean's dash, part of him annoyed _he_ wouldn't et the dicount, just. you."


	243. chapter 243

There is a lot of tension in the teams right now. Survivor Series awakening that old brand loyalty drama hadn't helped, and Ambrose has it out for Rollins again, so things aren't a lot of fun right now. So once Dolph finds himself back in the Digital World, his foot healed enough for him to be cleared for matches, he pushes his way through the group of cranky Digidestined until he finds Zack, gripping him by the collar of his sliced shirt and dragging him away. "HEY!" Zack yells, flailing away in an attempt to defend himself before realizing who exactly has him and relaxing- a little. "What exactly are you doing, bro?"

"Getting away from the drama, and you're the only one around here who seems to be in a good mood, so you're coming with me."

"It's the holidays, bro, who wouldn't be in a good mood?" Zack wonders, slinging an arm around Dolph's shoulders with a wide, happy grin.

"Most of the people around us right now," Dolph grouses, fighting his natural urge to shrug Zack's arm away from him. The only reason he doesn't is because Zack's warm against muscles that are excessively sore after wrestling Seth Rollins.

Zack shrugs, barely aware of that or disinterested, and continues loping along with Dolph, looking for some sign of something that may need help around him. When it happens, it's sudden, it's brutal. An impossibly strong gust of water slams forward and blasts Zack away from Dolph, sending him roughly into the rocky expance just south of where they were walking. "KID!" Dolph yells, twisting around in time to dodge as a fireball comes barreling at him. Patamon is useless with Zack unconscious, but Impmon quickly digivolves to Beelzebumon and begins shooting back offense with the WarGreymon Antibody X mode that had come out of hiding while Dolph was distracted.

Once the two massive mega level digimon are embroiled in their fight, he scrambles over to Zack's side and cups his face, staring deep into his eyes. "Kid. Kid!" When he stirs is probably the most painful, relieving moment Dolph's had in awhile. "Oh shit," he breathes out, squeezing Zack's face. "Never ever scare me like that again."

"Sorry," Zack slurs, blinking exhaustedly as more fighting sounds behind them, Dolph suddenly covering him and pinning him to the ground as fire slams into the mountain overhead, sharring it back.

"BEELZEBUMON!" Destroy him already!" Dolph barks, cradling the back of Zack's head and feeling the blood ooze between his fingers.

"Trying!" Beelzebimon snaps back, dropping his gun into position. "DOUBLE IMPACT!" Weakens him, leaves him scrambling to get away from the bullets but Beelzebumon isn't done quite yet. "Hātobureiku Shotto!" he yells out, the Japanese language dancing off of his tongue before he destroys WarGreymon with one solid, quick shot straight to his chest, tearing through his heart.

Dolph breathes a little easier when he sees the creature delete, kneeling down to help Zack onto his shoulder so he can fireman carry him to help. "Is... is he going to be ok?" Patamon asks weakly.

"I'm not sure," Dolph says honestly, feeliing Zack's uneven breathing against the back of his neck. "I hope so, the sooner we get him back to the others, the sooner we'll know for so."

So they begin walking.


End file.
